Jaggy's Corner - E3 2021 Wrap-Up

E3 2021

This year E3 was completely showcased online due to the length of the pandemic that we are still recovering from. With it came a number of challenges, not only for game developers but for companies showcasing new games they’ve been able to work on during the last few years. In this article, I’m going to cover many of the E3 announcements this year, as well as some of my most anticipated.

Nintendo Direct

Out of the Nintendo Showcase came a number of titles being ported to the Nintendo Switch like Worms Rumble and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2. Both of these titles I’m excited to see on the Switch because I played a bunch of both Worms and Tony Hawk games many years ago, so it’s on account of nostalgia. I’m also personally excited for some more Legend of Zelda because Breath of the Wild 2 was announced! Again, while I haven’t played all of the Zelda series, it holds a special place in my heart, meaning I will not miss this title when we get it in 2022.

Metroid fans can rejoice because a new game was announced titled ‘Metroid Dread‘ which puts players in the role of Samus Aran. This is the fifth installment of the Metroid series and fans of the side-scrolling action can finally look forward to this latest addition.

Beloved Shin Megami Tensei V is slated for launch in November 2021 which will make plenty of fans of the role-playing title happy. The game is designed to be a hybrid between Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei IV, so expect to be raising and fusing demons along with other new mechanics. I’ve never tried this series, but I do know that many people in my circle are hyped for this one!

Dear Villagers is publishing a JRPG this year titled Astria Ascending and it looks fantastic. I’m not too familiar with this title but knowing that it’s being published by Dear Villagers who brought titles like Hover, Edge of Eternity, and The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos, I’m interested to watch some of Astria’s gameplay.

There were a few more titles announced which are: WarioWare: Get it Together, Dragon Ball Z Kakarot, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, Mario Party Superstars, Cruis’n Blast, Danganronpa Decadence, and Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water Remaster.

Square Enix

So we all know about my love for Dontnod’s Life is Strange series, yes? Well good news for people like me! Life is Strange is being remastered and I have to say that the graphics do appear to be much better than the original (Although, I’m not sure that the games will be worthwhile to purchase again, but we’ll see.) Anyways, we also saw a more in-depth trailer for Life is Strange: True Colors where players get to be Alex, a woman who feels the emotions of others. This is a must buy for me in September of this year!

Strangely I’ve missed any news about the Hitman series since the third game was released as the final installment, but Square Enix surprised us with a mobile, free to play title called Hitman Sniper: The Shadows. The mobile market has gained a lot of traction over the last couple of years and it shouldn’t be a surprise that studios are jumping on the band wagon, so who knows? This game could be good. I may give it a shot. (Terrible, I know.)

I love a good Final Fantasy game and Square Enix hit us with a trailer for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. This title is an action role-playing game and is a spin-off of the main Final Fantasy series. Although, based on the trailer, I can’t say I have high hopes for it right now. The trailer repeats the protagonist’s need to kill someone named Chaos and if that is the sole motivation for the story, UGH. Square, I hope for your sake and for Final Fantasy fan’s sake that there is more to the game than that. Just saying…

Finally, Square Enix showcased a new Guardians of the Galaxy game, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I am often skeptical of movie-to-video game renditions. I’m especially worried about it because of the terrible Fast and Furious video game. While it would be awesome to ride with the Guardians and maybe attempt to stop Thanos before oblivion happens, I don’t have high hopes for a video game. I especially don’t tend to have high expectations given that the showcase for it was needlessly long. I want this to be good, but I don’t know yet. We’ll see.

Xbox and Bethesda

Out of all the game announcements from this year’s E3, there is only one that I shrieked over. That would be for more SLIMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Yes. That’s right. We are getting a Slime Rancher 2 and I’m over the moon. I played a ton of the first game on stream and absolutely loved every minute of it. I will get this game and play a TON of it, because it’s just that good. Trust me. You’ll thank me later.

Technically, there was a second title I would have been really excited about. For reasons I’m not going to go into here, I happen to love Top Gun (and yes, this does mean I will be watching Maverick in Theatres when it releases very close to my birthday. It’s tradition. Top Gun can never be a quiet movie. NEVER.) Now, if this Top Gun trailer was a standalone game, I’d be ALL OVER IT. Alas, no. Top Gun is merely a DLC for Microsoft Flight Simulator. You almost had it. ALMOST. *Grumbles*

There’s another title in the Xbox line-up that has peaked my interest and that is The Ascent which looks to be a cross between Cyberpunk and XCOM. It is definitely a third person game and players seem to be able to have a squad, but I am not yet sure if this is a single player or multiplayer title. Either way, it looks neat and I’m totally down for more tactical games especially if they are in the vein of Cyberpunk. Check out the trailer here.

A couple other intriguing games are Redfall – a vampire game which can be played solo or multiplayer, Psychonauts 2 – a cute platformer which was developed by Double Fine, Starfield – a first person action-adventure game, Twelve Minutes – an interactive thriller by Annapurna, Aragami 2 – a ninja stealth game developed by Lince Works,

Other titles announced during the Xbox showcase were:

• Shredders – Developer Foam Punch announced this snowboarding game
• Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising & Hundred Heroes – A JRPG that was successfully Kickstarted and launches in 2022
• Forza Horizon 5 – Playground Games returns to the stage with this popular driving title
• Party Animals – This is a physics-based brawler which looks like Gang Beasts but with animals
• Replaced – A side-scrolling steampunk action game coming out in 2022
• Somerville – By Jumpship comes a sci-fi adventure where players try to make their family whole again
• Battlefield 2042 – The iconic first person shooter by DICE and published by EA is releasing the seventeenth installment in the series
• Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl – Sequel to Shadow of Chernobyl, Stalker 2 is a first person survival shooter from GSC Games

Devolver Digital

Devolver Digital always has an interesting showcase where I often don’t think the games are real until I look them up. As history shows, the studio doesn’t have many games to show off, but what they do announce tends to be different than others. One of those titles is Death’s Door which is classified as adventure, shooter, action roleplaying, and fighting game. Players take the form of a crow who reaps the souls of the dead. It sounds strange because it is.

Another title announced by Devolver Digital is a game called Inscryption which is a card-based deck building roguelike mixed with some escape room puzzles and psychological horror. As I said, they announce games that are off the wall, and this one is no different. Check out the Inscryption trailer here.

Coming to the App Store and Google Play later this year comes the title ‘Tumble Time’. This game is so strange that I don’t even know what to say for it. If you’re brave enough to think that your head won’t explode, check out the trailer here.

The final three titles that were announced at E3 this year are Demon Throttle, Trek to Yomi, and Wizard with a Gun .(Not gonna lie, I kinda want this even though I know I would SUCK HORRIBLY at it.). Feel free to check out all the trailers for those to get more information about them.

Ubisoft

Is it really E3 if we don’t have a Just Dance announcement? Probably not. Normally we have some embarrassing demonstration or performance that makes the dancer in me roll over in my future grave. As much as I love the Just Dance series because it is a fun game, the marketing kills me every year. Please, I beg you. Find another way to market the game because this travesty needs to end. I BEG YOU.

Just when I thought the face-rolling was done, Ubisoft announced Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Don’t get me wrong, at the time the Avatar movie came out, it was a cinematic marvel. But movies that become video games are very much hit and miss. Some of the good ones include Mortal Kombat, Golden Eye, Lord of the Rings, and Star Trek Bridge Crew. It’s not to say that the Avatar game can’t be good, it’s that I don’t have particularly high hopes for it. (Also, I wasn’t super enthralled with the movie like most people were.)

I know a lot of people who are extremely excited for Rainbow Six Extraction, but I’ve never been much of a shooter kind of player. It doesn’t help that the developers felt the need to change the original name from quarantine. The word is not bad or malicious and I don’t see why the change was necessary. Anyways, I’m sure the fans of Rainbow Six Siege will be excited for another title but to me it’s just another shooter.

There are two titles that grabbed my attention during E3 and those are Riders Republic – a first person cross between the Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Steep, and The Trials series – and Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. Riders Republic has a lot of potential replayability with the different modes while Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a tactical strategy game like the first one of its kind. And honestly, I really loved the first one.

Koch Media

From Koch Media we saw a trailer for King’s Bounty 2 which is an upcoming turn-based tactical RPG. While I never played the first game, this title is a fantasy based game that I’m interested in looking at. We also saw a trailer for Encased: C.R.O.N.U.S. which is a sci-fi RPG with what seem to be factions. Another sci-fi RPG that also combines horror elements is a game titled Dolmen which will be available on the PS4 and PS4 in 2022.

There were several other games that were showcased during the Koch Media presentation. Some of those titles can be see in the YouTube video below:

E3 Final Thoughts

Overall, I found that this year’s E3 presentation was lacking something for me. I think because of the pandemic I wasn’t as excited for it this time around. It has nothing to do with the games presented or the developers who worked tirelessly from home to present upcoming games to the public. That said, I’m glad that E3 even happened because most other events delayed their in person shows to 2022. While I wasn’t as hyped up this year, a few presentations impressed me with their upcoming releases.

 

Article by: Susan N.

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Jaggy's Corner - Remembering Geoff "iNcontroL" Robinson

I wish I could say that it was a good thing to write Jaggy's Corner on a Tuesday but alas, that is not the case. And I wish I could say that writing for video games is always exciting and fun, but it's not. Writers also have to pass along news like the passing of an important personality in the gaming community. While the hardest post I ever wrote was the passing of another notable gaming personality in Starcraft 2, this one is equally difficult. I, like many others, sit in utter disbelief that Geoff "iNcontroL" Robinson passed away on Saturday July 20th, 2019 at the age of 33.

This is going back to the OG Twitch days...

I can't even express how awful this news is, knowing that the passing of John Bain - an amazing friend of Geoff and co-caster in Starcraft 2 - only happened a year prior. They were both the same age when they passed. It's a fact that doesn't go unnoticed. You see, both of these men who were highly respected and loved passed away at an age younger than I am. Both of these pillars in Starcraft 2 and gaming helped so many people in the community. And both of them were the most generous and kind people; ones to be looked up to.

Having lost two strong personalities in gaming really hurts. I can't even fathom what the heck happened, even as I watch the rerun broadcast of Geoff playing Apex Legends with friends on the same day he passed away from a blood clot in his lungs.

I'm going to take you guys down memory lane.

My first introduction to Twitch was through Starcraft 2. At the time, I wanted to understand the game that my brother invested hours of time playing. When it came to my brother and I with RTS games, I was better at Warcraft where he was better at Starcraft. At some point, I wanted to learn more about this game that my brother devoted so much time. He sent me Husky and Carbot videos which hooked me on the game. This led to my looking up information about build orders. I ended up in Demuslim's Twitch stream. At the time, Demu was a professional player for Evil Geniuses and Geoff was the captain of the team. This is how it all started for me. Demu's stream lead to everything.


The way Demu would explain his thought process during ladder games put the difficult RTS into perspective for me, but it was the whole team that kept me invested in Starcraft. Specifically, Geoff's sense of humor and calm demeanor caused me to consume all content related to EG in Starcraft 2. It eventually led me to LowkoTV's stream where I ended up being a chat moderator for several years. And I was hooked after watching what became one of my favorite and goofy sponsorship YouTube videos with Geoff and Jaedong. 

Throughout my time in the Sc2 community, I followed the careers of all the players. This lead me to State of the Game, which I only discovered closer to the end of its run. Two videos come to mind from that series; the first of which is Geoff telling the origin story of Whitera's Special Tactics. However, my absolute favorite video moment of Geoff's will always be the last episode of State of the Game where Sean "Day9" Plott laughed his guts out.

As an EG fan, I discovered what was known as the "EG Curse", which was well known in Sc2. After players were recruited onto the team, they would start performing terribly. In the video below, Geoff talks about the "EG Curse" to a new player on the roster, and it still makes me laugh. Anyways, that new player went on to obliterate his opponents and ended up becoming my all-time favorite Sc2 Zerg player for many years to come.


I remember later on watching "Good Game", a documentary about the EG Starcraft 2 team, where Geoff had talked about pro player Idra and his progression as an esports professional. One of the things he said was that Idra's reaction to esports fame and his terrible interactions with fans made sense because he (Idra) lacked the same socialization skills as others at his age. And it was because of this documentary that I really started to both respect and understand the sort of person Geoff was. 

While I never met Geoff, I watched his career over the course of 7 years (I know this because that is how long I've been following his channel. In fact, that's right down to the month). And I recall clearly an interview with Cyan Esports. During the interview, Geoff said some very humbling things that struck me. In fact, I had tweeted about the interview a day after it went up on YouTube. Some of those important things were: "You don't go to college and get an esports degree. You have to work for it. You have to ask people to do things for them in order to make it in this industry. Esports is about years of raw passion to carry you forward and then eventually there is a chance you can make a career out of it." I was very inspired by that section in the video because at that point I wanted to be more than just a chat moderator. And while today this might not make sense because of how big esports are, consider that Geoff started in esports when there were no sponsorship deals, there wasn't an esports work visa, and there weren't courses in colleges and universities about professional video gaming. Geoff was one of the OG personalities from before all of this happened. And he started around the same time as notable casters like Artosis and Tasteless, or Day9 when he was still doing YouTube beginner videos.

If I could remember where the story was told I'd link it but, Geoff had talked about his beginnings of esports. A friend of his took a chance on him by allowed him to live in his parents basement just to pursue the esports dream at a time when there was no guarantee of a career. You want to know why Geoff was a pillar in the community? That right there is everything you need to know, but I digress...

I only saw Geoff in passing once. It was at Dreamhack Montreal a couple of years ago for the WCS circuit. At the time, I was talking to Maynarde and ZombieGrub about life, traveling, if they were excited for the matchups, etc... I wasn't doing an interview or anything, I was just chatting with them. This occurred before they would be casting all day. It was then that Geoff had walked by - a few meters away from me - and sat down on the couch behind Maynarde and ZombieGrub. I vaguely recall mentioning that I wanted to say Hi. Just once. My god, I wish I had.... Anyways, not long after that, the makeup artist swung by to prepare the casters for the cameras and I promptly took my leave. Throughout the rest of the event, I didn't see Geoff in person again. I imagine he ducked out before people could swarm him. (I mean, that's what you get for playing Protoss...)

Thank you for everything, Geoff. StarCraft won't be the same without you. pic.twitter.com/zA7likyhf1

— StarCraft (@StarCraft) July 22, 2019

There is so much more I could say about Geoff, having watched his career over the course of 7 years, but all of it comes from the perspective of a fan, an observer, and a chat moderator for various Sc2 channels. Geoff was never a man that I knew personally, but he was someone integral to many people's careers and to several communities besides Sc2. He loved tabletop games like Warhammer 40k, he played Dungeons & Dragons, he streamed video games like XCOM 2 without mystically raging, and he still managed to be an amazing role model for many people in esports. He remained humble and kept a smile on everyone's face.

I can't envision how the people closest to him are feeling right now - many of them are casters who are at events or at home streaming. I do know how some feel because of their posts like Nathanias' or ROOTCatZ's, the Tweets, and the Video tributes. Nothing prepared me for Day9's stream, clipped below:  


Over the last few days, Geoff's Twitch channel has been playing rerun broadcasts of past streams. Many people have stopped by the stream to express their thoughts and grief. If Geoff meant anything, perhaps stop on by to share some memories with the community. We're all trying to process and grieve a man who supported so many people in the gaming community.

Geoff loved his dog Barristan, his bulldog, so it stands to reason that he loved a bulldog rescue group. Consider taking a look at the SoCal Bulldog rescue that Geoff supported.
 
I have one final thing to say. Until next time Geoff. Please give John our love. We miss you dearly.




Article by Susan N.

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Jaggy's E3 Wrap Up Part 2

Part 2 Introduction

For the second E3 article, I cover the rest of the conferences from last weekend. This includes the Xbox conference, Nintendo, and Bethesda. So let's get right to it! And if you missed our first wrap up article, click here.

XBOX

I could really just stop on this first title, the one that everyone is waiting for, which is Cyberpunk 2077. Let's be real, I was am stoked for this title but it was made EVEN better when Keanu Reeves - John Wick himself - stepped on the stage. Of course what happened has now become a meme (NO YOU'RE BREATHTAKING!), but it was so worth it. And as most everyone knows, Cyberpunk is an open world RPG set in a megalopolis. Players get to run around with cyberware and use enhancements to take on a story of your own. It is being developed an published by CD Projekt Red and anything this studio touches often turns into gold. My body is ready!

For me, arguably the next most hyped game is something that the next generation of gamers will have to suffer through. And that game is called Battletoads! It is an old Nintendo game that drove my brother and I insane mainly because of those dumb slaloms. Anyways, now a new generation of players can suffer through this amazing game - depending on how the game is designed. Either way, I'm excited for it.

Another game that caught my eye is an indie game called 12 Minutes, an interactive thriller in top down view. It is being published by Annapurna Interactive for PC and Xbox One. You play a character that is told that you and your wife are having a child, though not long after cops burst into your house to arrest your wife. Luis Antonio, the developer of this game, has been credited for work done in The Witness - another puzzle game I absolutely loved that was created by Jonathan Blow. For me, this title is not one to miss out on. 

The next title that made me smile ridiculously is Lego Speed Champions: Forza Horizon 4. I mean, they had a McLaren assembled out of Lego - and the car looked like it was made to scale! Anyways, it has never been a secret that I love racing games but marrying racing with a Lego game makes any fan feel like a kid again. It may be silly but I love it!

Elden Ring is an action RPG releasing under FromSoftware. The critically acclaimed author George R. R. Martin collaborated with the Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki to create this new souls-like game. It proves to be a dark and brutal game based on the history of these two masters at murdering viewers and players alike. Of course, I don't mean that literally. Anyways, the game looks like any Souls fans will enjoy this new title.

The seventeenth title under Bandai Namco's epic Tales series will release in 2020 and fans of the series are stoked. It is a JRPG that many gamers have heard of or played previously. This new title, Tales of Arise, aims to appeal to the western audience, even though it will not be an open world. The last game in this series was Tales of Berseria and it has been several years since it launched, so it stands to reason that many fans will grab this title when it launches. I mean, we are talking about Bandai Namco here.

Borderlands 3 has been talked about at length in the recent weeks. On September 13th, the Handsome Collection will launch and I know plenty of gamers that are excited for this title as well. It will feature a ton of guns, guns, and more guns. Oddly enough, I've never been big on the Borderlands games, however, it is well liked and I would be remiss if I didn't mention it in this list of games to be excited for.

This conference also announced some key bits of information like Double Fine Productions is now part of the Microsoft studio, the news of the Xbox GamePass, and Project Scarlett - Xbox's new console that will compete with the PlayStation 5. I've always been a #pcmasterrace kind of person so we'll see what happens with the new consoles.

Nintendo

Nintendo's conference had a couple of interesting titles. The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening will release September 20th of this year. Trials of Mana will release on the Switch in 2020 and with that announcement came news that all three Mana games are available on the Switch.

A new titled called Astral Chain will release August 20th this year and I'm excited for this game. It is an action game developed by PlatinumGames and is directed by the lead game designer for Nier: Automata with assistance from Hideki Kamiya, the creator of Bayonetta. Players will be able to choose between two characters who will be responsible for saving their world. I want it. The game looks amazing from what has been shown thus far.

The next title in this list is also part of the Zelda series and it is called Cadence of Hyrule which calls back to the Zelda games of old as a top down 2D world. Players will explore randomly generated places and they will be able to either run around as Zelda or as Link. This game also merges some of the weapons and spells used in Crypt of the NecroDancer. There is also a music component to the game as well as having the ability to play with a friend, so it should be an interesting experience. 

During the Xbox conference the new Animal Crossing game, "New Horizons", was announced. It will be released on March 20th of next year and a lot of people are excited. Animal Crossing is a game where players build up a new life on a deserted island. Over time they can create a whole community of people and animals. Having never played an Animal Crossing game, I might check this one out, just because it would be a nice relaxing gameplay experience.

Now for a title that several members of Chalgyr's are excited about, which is The Sinking City - an open world action/adventure mystery game being developed and published by Frogwares. It is inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft and it is set in a fictional town of New England, Oakmont Massachusetts. Players follow a private investigator and a war veteran who try to figure out the source of awful horrific visions that seem to be causing floods. The game will release on June 27th of this year and we are excited for it!   

Many people are happy to see the joining of Super Smash Ultimate and Banjo Kazooie, which releases later this year. A huge teaser is the sequel to Breath of the Wild which simply stated that the game is in development. I have no idea how that will turn out but I love the idea of having another BoTW game.

Also mentioned was a Catan game that will launch on the Switch on June 20th. This is exciting for me because I love the boardgame Settler's of Catan. I'm not sure how it will play out as a mobile game, but I'm excited nonetheless.

Bethesda

I'll be honest, every single year the Bethesda conference is the most boring for me. I am not a fan of Fallout, and especially hate Fallout 76 because of how much of a let down it was to other people. I've simply watched the trainwreck happen from a distance. In the presentation, Bethesda talked about the new additions to the game like actual NPC's and a new battle royale mode called Nuclear Winter. I'm sure there are plenty of fans out there that will gobble up the new additions to the game, but it's not my kind of game so it's not that big of a deal to me.

Next on the list is Deathloop, created by the people responsible for Dishonored and Prey. Now, I do like the Dishonored series, so releasing a new IP as a first-person action game, seems like it would be interesting to me. I'm not yet sure if it will be my style of game yet but who knows?

Finally, Commander Keen is being revived as a free to play mobile game. It was a classic platformer that was inspired by Saturday morning cartoons in its original installment. I believe the game is being released as a 2D tactics game. It will feature a single-player story mode and a real time PVP combat. It was not a game that I played in the 90s but it looks like it would be really fun to try. I might give this title a shot.

Bethesda had a lot more to showcase like Wolfenstein, Elder Scroll, and Doom Eternal but again, just about everything in their lineup did not excite me at all. That's just me though.

Other Games

There were plenty of games I didn't get to so, here is a list of the rest of the games I didn't mention:

Xbox One

• Star Wars: Fallen Order
• Blair Witch
• Spiritfarer
• RPG Time: The Legend of Wright
• Star Renegades
• Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
• Crosscode
• Creatures in the Well
• Riverbond
• Unto the End
• Felix the Reaper
• Undermind
• Secret Neighbour
• Night Call
• Totem Teller
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Age of Empires III: The Definitive Edition
• Wasteland 3
• Psychonauts 2
• Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
• DragonBall Game: Project Z
• Way to the Woods
• Gears 5: Bound by Blood 5, Escape, Terminator
• Dying Light 2
• Funko Pop Gears 5
• State of Decay 2: Heartland
• Phantasy Star Online 2

Nintendo

• Super Smash Ultimate + Dragon Quest XI
• Luigi's Mansion 3
• The Dark Crystal: Tactics
• Trials of Mana
• The Witcher III - for the Switch
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses
• No More Heroes III
• Contra Anniversary Collection
• Daemon vs Machina
• Panzer Dragoon
• Pokemon Sword / Shield
• Empire of Sin
• Ultimate Alliance 3
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
• Spyro
• Hollow Knight: Silk Song
• Minecraft Dungeons
• My Friend Pedo
• Dead by Daylight IV
• Alien Isolation
• Just Dance 2020
• Super Lucky's Tale
• Super Mario Maker 2

Bethesda

• The Elder Scrolls: Blades
• Ghostwire Tokyo
• The Evil Within 3
• Doom Eternal
• Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot
• Wolfenstein: Youngblood
• Rage 2: Rise of the Ghosts

 

Final Wrap Up of E3

Obviously there are some amazing titles listed like Cyberpunk and Battletoads. Remember, this is a subjective list of things I'm excited about, but also, this is just my opinion.

Who's conference won E3 for you? I'm tied between the PC games list and Square Enix.



Article by Susan N.

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Jaggy's E3 Wrap Up Part 1

E3 Introductory Thoughts

This year's E3 had a lot of fun and interesting titles, facepalm moments, and it wouldn't be E3 without some technical issues. As with last year's E3 wrap up, I will split the conferences into two articles to get as many games listed as possible. In this first article I'm looking at games I'm excited for from the PC Gaming Show, Square Enix, Ubisoft, and Devolver Digital. I'm not going into detail about every title, just the ones I'm hyped for. The rest will be listed at the end of the article.

PC Gaming Show

As a PC player, this conference is often the most important one for me to watch. While there were a lot of games listed in their lineup, I'm excited for Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 because, lets face it, people know I'm a fan of vampires. Next is a much anticipated new published game by Chucklefish called Starmancer and I definitely want it. This is a game where players can build up a colony in space and ConcernedApe's ability to do incredible pixel art has impressed me. I can see the drastic improvements from his work in Stardew Valley.

Now, I've always been a fan of games like Planet Coaster or some of the Tycoon games, so it should be no shock that I love the idea of Planet Zoo. Sometimes it's just fun to build up great spaces where nothing could possibly go wrong... Absolutely nothing... The animals won't try to eat each other or the patrons, will they?

Balders Gate had a relatively short trailer at E3 this year and it does not have a release date, but fans of the series are excited to get their hands on this title. We don't yet have much information about the style of gameplay since the previous two titles were top down 2D strategy games. It'll be fun to see what direction the newest installment will take.

Alright, now to talk briefly about a game that I most likely won't play, but I love the premise behind it. Midnight Ghost Hunt is a hide and seek multiplayer game where players are either ghosts or ghost hunters. The hunters have to find the ghosts before midnight. The ghosts can pose as any inanimate object in the place. There aren't many games where players get to be evil ghosts that try to murder others, so that is why I find it an intriguing premise, but that's just me.

Next on the list is Age of Wonders: Planetfall, a 4x game that releases in August of this year. It's no surprise that I love just about anything Paradox Interactive publishes, so to have this on my list of must have games should not shock anyone. It's a science-fiction strategy game that looks like a lot of fun by combining turn-based combat with the studio that brought us the Age of Wonders series. Yes. I need this in my life!

This year, fans of the Shenmue series will get the third installment in November. It is an open world action/adventure game where players take control of Ryo Hazuki, a martial artist who seeks revenge on his father's killer. I know plenty of people that I stoked for it, so keep an eye out for Shenmue!

Earlier this year I reviewed a game called Whispers of a Machine that was published by Raw Fury. E3 presented another game releasing by the same publisher called Per Aspera and I'm excited for it. This title is a simulation game taking place on Mars and it reminds me of the aesthetic of Surviving Mars. Per Aspera has more than just base building it seems, because it contains a single player story that we can experience - which is different from Surviving Mars which doesn't have a single player narrative.

Finally, the makers of Her Story have developed a new title called Telling Lies. Unlike Her Story where players watch small portions of an interrogation to determine what happened, this title features multiple characters who are lying. Your job is to learn the truth and I believe it will be an intriguing game to play. It's set to come out later this year and I need to get my hands on it.

Square Enix

I'm not going to lie, the Square Enix conference was one of the ones I was extremely excited about because of the Final Fantasy VII remake that is coming out March 3rd of next year. I want to see more about the game and I'm still excited for it to release, despite what others may say.

They announced Life is Strange 2's next episode, which is a series I've enjoyed ever since I played the first one. It's a series that has some very interesting themes and amazing music, so I look forward to going through more of the story in it.

Another title they announced for the summer of next year is called Outriders and it is a new co-op based shooter that will release on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC. The game seems post apocalyptic and brutal, so I'm intrigued. We aren't told much about the game but I have hopes for it. We will find out when more information is released.

Square Enix is also releasing a new Avengers game that is said to be different from the events of the movie. It is releasing on May 15th of next year and looks like a good time. Also, it helps that the trailer had some amusing comments like: "Did Thor just make a joke?" Another bonus is that Travis Willingham and Laura Bailey are the voices of Thor and Black Widow respectively. Since I'm a fan of Critical Role (a D&D show streamed on Twitch with a group of famous voice actors), it makes perfect sense that I'd be immediately interested in this title for multiple reasons.

Finally, the biggest shock for me was the announcement of Final Fantasy VIII's remake which comes out this year. WHAT?! SERIOUSLY?! I'm still in shock! For those of you that aren't aware, my introduction to the series was Final Fantasy VII. I went on to play Final Fantasy VIII after that and both of these games are significant to me for personal reasons that I won't elaborate on. Suffice it to yes, this is a title I'm also going to nab as fast as possible. I loved this game and have zero issues playing it again!

Ubisoft Conference

For me, Ubisoft didn't have a lot of titles I was super excited about, but the two that really peaked my interest are Watch Dogs: Legion which is set to release on March 6th of next year and Roller Champions. The second one surprised me because I grew up watching a television show called "Blade Warriors" where players had to traverse an obstacle course on rollerblades, very similar to the TV show called "America's Ninja Warriors". Seeing this game made me smile and remember the television series and I'm excited for the game, even if it's chessy as hell. I want it.

Of course, it wouldn't be Ubisoft if they didn't announce another Just Dance game (now with Kpop!) and the launch of Uplay Plus that allows subscribers to get early access to new games. It will be available on Stadia and only costs $14.99/month.

Devolver Digital

As per normal, Devolver Digital enters the ring with interesting games like Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, Carrion - a reverse horror game where players are the evil creature chasing after those that imprisoned them, a new Enter the Gungeon DLC called House of the Gundead, and The Messenger's new DLC "Picnic Panic." While I always wonder about the legitimacy of the trailers they present, their conference is always just something to experience. Trust me.

Day 1 Final Thoughts

Now, there are a large number of titles that I didn't include in this list because there are a lot of games to cover. My objective was to simplify what E3 had to offer so here is the list of everything else for these four conferences:

PC

• Evil Geniuses 2
• Chivalry 2
• Mosaic
• Unexplored 2
• Mutant Year Zero: Seed of Evil
• Conan Unconquered
• Moons of Madness
• Conan Chop Chop
• Last Oasis
• Zombie Army Dead War 4
• Remnant: From the Ashes
• Griftlands
• Songs of Conquest
• Vermintide 2: Versus
• Cris Tales
• ValFaris
• Maneater
• Terraria: Journey's End
• Genesis Noir
• El Hijo
• Ancestors
• The Pathless
• Phantom Brigade
• Rune II
• What the Golf?
• The Sojourn

Square Enix

• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
• Octopath Traveler
• The Last Remnant Remastered
• Dragon Quest Builders 2
• DragonQuest XI
• Circuit Superstars
• Battallion 1944: Battlefront?
• Kingdom Hearts III: Re-mind
• Final Fantasy XIV: ShadowBringers
• Dying Light 2
• Romancing Salsa 3
• Final Fantasy Brave Exvius
• Final Fantasy Brave War of the Visions
• Oninaki

 Ubisoft

• Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet
• Rainbow Six Siege: Operation Phantom Sight
• Adventure Time in Brawlhalla
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
• Ghost Recon: Delta Company
• Tom Clancy's Elite Squad
• For Honor: Shadows of the Hitokiri
• Rainbow Six Quarantine
• The Division 2: Episode 3
• The Division 2 - The Movie 
• Gods & Monsters

Stay tuned tomorrow when I cover the rest of the conferences from E3 2019. In the meantime, let us know what you are excited for in the comments below!

Until next time.


Article by Susan N.

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Jaggy's Corner - Sunday April 28

Alright, this week I'm unloading both barrels into esports because of the absolute garbage that made it into my feed. The topic is racism in esports and I'm disgusted that it is still a problem.

The first sighting of racism this week was when I read an article about Rick Fox leaving team Echo Fox because of racist statements made from their investors to his business partner Jace Hall.

For those that are unfamiliar with Rick Fox, he is a retired NBA player, an actor, and an esports franchise owner. The man is well respected and, in my opinion, is needed in esports. But don't just take my word for it, an article published by For the Win – a division of USA Today – in October of 2017 said this:

However, when Fox was asked about all of this — changing the culture of eSports — he said that his organization isn’t the first to do things like pay attention to fitness and explore ways their players can get competitive advantages, but he did say that he believes they’ve “enhanced” and “been an amplifier to the conversation” because of their pro sports backgrounds.

Echo Fox was excelling as an esports team and they had expanded into games like CS:GO and Super Smash Bros. Later they moved into other esports and they have the backing of an investment company Vision Venture Partners, a company that Rick Fox is a partner in, and will be discussed later on.

Anyways, Richard Lewis tweeted about Rick Fox leaving team Echo Fox from an email he sent to all the major stakeholders stating:

This is an official notification of my intention to exit the Echo Fox organization as a shareholder and participant as soon as I am able to facilitate a transaction to do so. The recent outrageous and abhorrent display of pure racism by a significant Echo Fox shareholder as well as threats to my family have made it impossible for me to continue to remain associated with the company

Are you kidding me right now? The string of profanities that just entered my mind over that article would cause people to grab a bottle bleach for their ears... Anyways, let me break down what he just said in plain English:

1. He's leaving the organization, not because he was forced to, but because other people are racist dicks.
2. Rick Fox's family received threats, presumably because he stuck up for his business partner.
3. There doesn't appear to be any recourse against the jackasses that made the racial slurs to begin with. Although, not for lack of trying.

You want to know why this is insane to me? It's because Echo Fox was founded by Rick Fox after he retired from his NBA career with the LA Lakers. It is owned by Vision Venture Partners (VVP) – the company that worked with the racist individual that drove Rick Fox to dissociate with any subsidiaries of VVP, which includes not only leaving the team, but selling off his company shares. For esports, VVP is affiliated with Vision Esports, Twin Galaxies, and team Echo Fox. This is important to know because Jace Hall is a key figure for both team Echo Fox and Twin Galaxies. And as we know, he was the main target of the disgusting racial remarks.

Just in case you thought this was bad, another piece of information plagued my twitter feed, and that was something in Rocket League. A player was banned from all Psyonix operated tournaments for a full year after repeatedly violating the player code of conduct. While this action was not taken lightly, the player who was banned because of his repeated infractions was not the only thing to anger me about this particular incident.

After the announcement was made, the Rocket League player posted a Tweet about his life being ruined, as well as statements that caused many to worry about his safety. (After doing a small bit of poking around, the player has not done any harm to himself, although, my understanding is that he's mentally in a tough state – as one would expect when a future is put on hold because of mistakes made.) What really set me off were the reactions by the community which were equally abhorrent. Yes, what the player said were terrible statements that were made in the heat of the moment. No, I don't condone anyone making comments like the ones captured in screenshots. However, the community reacting with statements like,

• “lol just move on..”;
• “he's just trying to manipulate people to feel sorry for them...” and;
• “You made your bed now lie in it. Honestly, this tweet makes you sound like a weak-minded bitch.”

* me foams at the mouth *

Now granted, the last line I quoted finishes with: “grow up and then come back a better person”, which is ultimately a good thing to say, I'm angered by the fact that the Tweet began with an insult. When someone is already down, insults don't often cause people to take your statements seriously. And, considering the toxic comments people made to the player does NOT make esports look good to the rest of the world. In fact, based on the Rick Fox incident, it makes celebrities and advertisers want to back away from esports entirely.

Until we, the largest entertainment medium in the world right now, take our professions seriously, the rest of the world will not. What people fail to realize is that the more our community shows its immaturity to the general public, the more esports suffers. And ultimately it will become more apparent as we are given less investment deals, less tournaments to attend, and less opportunity to make any career path in esports viable. Let that sink in.

So, to esports communities, stop showing the world your toxic attitudes and behaviors. Stop ruining it for the rest of us and figure things out.

* drops mic *


Until next time.


PS: The Rocket League player did issue an apology to the community, even though I don't believe he will be given leniency because of his actions. Although, I do believe that Psyonix made the right decision in his case. Take time to work on your attitude and your skills, then come back stronger.


Article by Susan N.

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Jaggy's Corner - Sunday April 21

Earlier this week PCGamer and Polygon released articles about a Fortnite professional gamer being dropped from their team. In both articles, the writers covered that the man who created the software used to cheat the game was the person to turn the player in.

Player Johnathan Kosmala was released from Team Kaliber after being found cheating during the World Cup Qualifiers, whose finals has a prize pool of $30 million dollars and would take place in July of this year. Then yesterday news broke that Epic Games has banned more than 1,000 accounts for cheating during the qualifiers because the players were account sharing, circumventing region locks to play in multiple qualifier tracks, or using cheating software.

As a result of the frantic cheating within Fortnite, Epic Games released a new 'Competitive Game Integrity' report which begins with the following statement:

Anyone found to be breaking the rules will be disqualified and penalized. Penalties may include a warning, a temporary competitive band (duration will be determined by Epic), removal from competitive play permanently, or a permanent ban from Fortnite. Penalties may be escalated if an account has received prior penalties in tournaments.

However, this Jaggy's corner isn't meant to go after specific players or teams because of cheating practices, it's to talk about cheating in video gaming.

As a person that is part of a couple tournament organizations, I can say that cheating is not limited to the game of Fortnite. Many competitive games have various mods or addons that provide certain advantages to the game play experience. I can recall a year and a half ago where a team was called into question among a tournament organization that I am part of. The admins had to make a decision about whether or not we should let the team play in our tournaments, especially since it was a community organization put on by an individual, and not by the game developers. Our team of admins engaged in heated discussion, and ultimately we decided to ban the competitive team from play. It was a difficult decision to make and it was also an unprecedented decision due to the fact that the game developer hadn't yet made a decision about the team until after we made our announcement.

A couple of things happened as a direct result of that decision. The tournaments started with a base prize pool and community members would donate to it, increasing the total amount. Normally this wasn't a problem since fans of the professional gaming space like to support their favorite teams and players, but one person requested a refund for the $1000 they had contributed once our ban was made public. Yes, you read that right. The person asked for a refund because the team they voted for was no longer going to play. Take that for what you will.

The second thing that occurred after we made our decision was the polarizing beliefs that the community had about the tournament and the admin staff. It was brutal because people wanted that team to play since they believed them to be 'the best', when we knew that most of them were being paid to boost accounts and engaging in other cheats. And when I say most of them, I mean that one or two of the players had not been proven to cheat the game. The admin staff had discussed at length whether or not we should ban the team, because we knew that only some of the members were legitimately corrupt.

A number of questions arose from that specific instance like: should tournament organizations penalize a whole team because of a couple bad apples? (Ha ha, ZING! #nocontext) Do we assume that if a couple of members are cheating, that the others must also be corrupted? How does a tournament organizer deal with instances of cheating in a world where screenshots can be doctored? (especially since some of the information we had came from Discord screenshots.) And is it necessary to wait on major decisions like it when the game developer hasn't made their own ruling?

The idea that players are sometimes more outraged by the fact that their favorite teams/players are banned is more egregious than the fact that people are losing legitimate chances to win money based on their aptitude for a game, is ludicrous to me. But 'professional players' have done all sorts of things to win tournaments like taking Adderall to enhance reaction time and refine their focus. Because of increased drug use in gaming, most esport tournaments have implemented rules to prohibit players from using any performance enhancing drugs. Also, this issue has never been solely the issue of physical sports, so when it became an issue in professional gaming, tournament organizers weren't necessarily surprised (I would think...)

The thing is, the onus isn't just on the players using various methods of cheating, it should also be on those who create the programs that can exploit video games. Having programs that can tip the balance in favor of certain players is not fair, and it makes the gaming industry look worse than it already does to the general public. Also, it calls into question a persons moral compass, the fact that certain people who create these programs don't care about the integrity of people or of friendly and fair competition.

Frankly, I think the programmers who are known to distribute cheats should also be penalized for their actions. And in the case of Fortnite, the person who created and distributed the software was the one to bring the person to the attention of Epic Games, ultimately leading to their removal from a professional team and a ban from the tournament. Now, in my opinion the creator of the cheat program gets a small free pass because told the World Cup organizers about ONE player. I say only a bit because personally, I don't condone cheating in most circumstances and definitely don't condone it in a tournament setting. However, I applaud the fact that the man was willing to bring someone to the attention of the admins. So there's that.

Anyways, that's just how I feel. The professional gaming space should continue to work on other ways to combat cheating, defrauding players, and promote good sportsmanship. This isn't something that will happen overnight, but they are principles that can be improved upon.

Do you agree? What are your thoughts about competitive gaming and cheating?

Until next time.


Article by Susan N.

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Jaggy's Corner - Sunday March 31st

This week I want to bring to your attention a Kickstarter campaign that I am super excited about.

The particular campaign is important to me because it's for a new narrative adventure game being worked on by Cyan World, Inc. If that didn't give anything away, Cyan Worlds, Inc. were one of the companies that kicked off the first person puzzle genre with their hit title Myst. Though, at the time, another adventure puzzle game also helped to popularize the genre and that title was The 7th Guest. Games like Riddle of the Sphinx, The Crystal Key, Rhem, Starship Titanic, Syberia, and Atlantis: The Lost Tales were released as a result of the popularity of first person adventure games.

Here we are in 2019 and Cyan has decided to bring another exciting adventure story that can be played in both a VR and non-VR state. The game's title is Firmament and from the video footage shown on the Kickstarter page, I'm already excited. Here is a small taste of what is written on the Kickstarter page:

You wake in a glacial cavern - perfused by blue. It's crowded with metal pipes and adorned with curious, clockwork gears.

Echoing machinery resonates in your ears as a massive metal door opens before you...

As you enter a dark chamber, warm lights flicker to life, revealing a frigid, yet intimate stone interior, supported by riveted iron beams. In the middle of this room is an ancient table - a tea cup on one end and a frozen body slumped over the other. The corpse's hands hold an exquisite clockwork device - held out like an offering.

If that wasn't enough, the Myst series is well known for some of its music like the intro theme to Myst III: Exile. However, the most notable of the series is the theme song from Myst IV: Revelation, which I listened ad naseum. That brilliant piece of music can be heard here:

The series has used the talent of musicians like Robyn Miller in the first couple of games, Jack Wall for Myst III and IV, and Tim Larkin who worked primarily on Myst V - the last game of the series. However, my most favorite piece in the series is the exclusive track written by Jack Wall in collaboration with Peter Gabriel in Myst IV: Revelation. It is called Curtains and it's much more appropriate to listen to once the puzzle preceding it is complete but, this is the YouTube link without the video footage. (That way, nothing is spoiled about it.)

For this new title Firmament, the musician will be Russell Brower who is most known for his work on World of Warcraft. He's a three-time Emmy Award winning sound designer and will be lending his expertise to this new project.

Are you hooked yet?

If not, I encourage everyone who loves these kinds of puzzles games to take a look at the Kickstarter campaign that runs for another 26 days (from today). Right now, Cyan is not quite at the half way mark, but I have faith that they will reach their goal because I need this game in my life!

Here is the link to the Kickstarter page and the Twitter page for Firmament. Give them some love and don't let this one slide on by without making the goal because everything Rand Miller has released has been amazing, including Obduction (which I should really sit down and finish playing).

Anyways, spread the love! The gaming industry needs more amazing titles like Myst and Obduction done by good development companies like Cyan.

Until next time.

Article by Susan N.

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Jaggy's Corner - Sunday March 24th

Okay. Internet. Please. Stop...

Why am I beginning with that? Because, it bugs me that once again people blew a situation out of proportion without considering other factors. Again.

This week what I'm talking about is Epic Games and the internet boycotting the company because of a silly scrapper file. Now, before you jump down my ass, let me explain why I feel like this whole situation is ridiculous.

First: The internet decided to uninstall the Epic Games launcher because of this discovered scrapping file that would access information IF - and only IF - users imported their Steam friends list into the Epic Launcher. But, people were more disgusted by the idea that Epic Games could see what types of games a person plays. Honestly, I don't see why that is an issue. A Steam game list is publicly available unless the user has their profile set to private. I also don't see an issue with this because I imagine the company wanted to collect this information to better market video games that people enjoy. As in, this is what targeted marketing is, and it's done by platforms like Google and Facebook whether you know it or not.

Second: The Epic Game Launcher has only existed for a year or two, meaning that they would still have a long way to go in order to effectively compete against platforms like Steam (which we'll get to later). I think it's ridiculous to think that a company is going to magically have the numbers to compete with other platforms in such a short period of time. People seem to think that's how the world works, but really it isn't. Companies have to make a lot of decisions in order to be successful, which includes bad ones. One cannot grow without having some great struggles. 

Third: I fully believe that Steam needs to have competition because, let's face it, Steam has done some horrendous things in the past.

To synthesize my thoughts about this 'security breach', let me first talk about some of the good things about Epic Games.

Since inception it has had substantial growth because of the hit title Fortnite (and if that is an unfamiliar title, you've literally been living under a rock. There are posters of Ninja in retail stores in my city. Imagine: a Twitch streamer has freaking posters for sale to the general public. Think about this.) While I'm not a Fortnite player, I can respect the fact that Epic made a huge splash in the industry with that title. Epic Games also boosted their reach by deciding to offer one game for free on a biweekly basis. Not only that, it is widely known that Epic Games is offering a greater profit split with the games developers. In essence, this is what makes Epic Games a more attractive platform to do business with, especially considering how cost prohibitive game development can be. Gone are the days where indie developers struggle with platforms to offer their games, so for Epic to offer a better monetary split is actually a very good thing. As a slight sidestep, this means game developers can use the money they make on producing better quality games instead of releasing subpar titles like say Fallout 76... (It's not my kind of game.. don't at me!)

Now, many are upset that Epic Games is 'stealing personal information' because of this scrapper program that is directly installed onto a person's system. People have equated it to malicious spyware, which it isn't. Epic has stated that they only collect data with permission. While I can say that I don't agree with its implementation and reasoning behind the program, it angers me more that people are SIDING WITH STEAM like they are some majestic unicorn that can do no wrong.

Steam: The platform that requires a paid fee in order to offer a game on the platform. It's the platform that said they were no longer going to regulate what is available to buy like its collection of hentai games, asset flips, or absolute garbage like "Rape Day" (which was thankfully removed from the platform, but not because it broke the new Steam policy. They removed the game because they were afraid of getting sued.) And DO NOT THINK that the developer of that game gets a free pass either. He basically stated something along the lines of 'my game was not meant to be on a platform like Steam...' Oh really? You willingly paid that fee. You actively set up the store page. And you filled in all the relevant information about the 'game'. Clearly you were drugged at the time or forced into putting your game on the platform... Right. Keep lying to yourself.

Anyways, back to the point. Steam is a platform that people have actively review bombed games for less than legitimate reasons. And despite all of the issues that Steam had with their previous Greenlight system, people seem to be more upset about Epic Games knowing their game list. Considering how people discovered the issue as well as the less than spectacular PR work done about those breaches since they've become public knowledge, I gawk at the idea that people are upset about this kind of information collecting.

Are you worried that you can't play your games? If you already have a list on Steam, then keep playing them there. Epic isn't stopping people from using another platform. They are providing an alternative. And if you are worried about having access to games because Humble Bundle gives out game codes for Steam, Epic has already stated that they have partnered up with Humble Bundle too! But honestly, people are upset because they are being forced to buying their games on another platform after being 'promised' a launch on a platform. I hate to break it to you but it's not like you have to buy a whole new system to play a PC game on a different launcher. This isn't the console wars where one has to decide if they like the exclusives on PlayStation versus Xbox and then buying the system that those games are released on. What does it really matter when it comes to PC gaming? There is no extra investment for you! Furthermore, Epic Games has stated that they would be giving people a $10 discount on Metro Exodus because it was supposed to be a Steam exclusive game. I don't know about you, but I call that a win.

Instead, you'd rather allow Epic Games to take a colossal hit in favor of Steam who has blatantly hidden certain game tags from being discovered, who has decided to wash their hands of any controversy with respect to video games, and who has a policy that is ambiguous at best. It feels a lot like users are just being butthurt for the sake of being butthurt. The Epic Games launcher is still fairly new, they don't have the same library of games, nor does the platform have the same features as its competitors. And I'm not the only one who thinks Epic Games will make the industry better. To prove my point on that, here is an interview with Rami Ismail about Epic Games and the why he believes Epic Games is good.

To think that people are up in arms because a game list is 'their personal information', I am going to quote this article from Extreme Tech:

"In a world where Facebook deliberately shares private and personal information on tens of millions of people with companies that never should have been allowed to see it, the idea that scanning a single file for a list of friends you won’t even upload without permission would constitute a privacy violation is pretty laughable by comparison."

I tend to agree with the author of that article.

However, this doesn't mean Epic Games gets a free pass. The idea that the company might not be liable for information collected without permission is a bad thing. It's also something that game companies have done before with much more brutal results like the piece I wrote about ArenaNet installing spyware onto people's systems so that they could ban users that had programs which could exploit or alter their game coding. It ended poorly in that ArenaNet had to spend time unbanning a bunch of accounts for erroneously hitting game developers that use these programs for their own projects. In reading my article, people would be aware that I am against this kind practice because I believe that the EULA does not extend to a person's whole computer. I explained that it's one thing to scan owned property to make sure files haven't been tampered with, but it's a completely separate issue to look at someone's whole computer for programs that can potentially be exploited.

Epic games needs to be held accountable for their actions, but that doesn't mean the internet should pull the trigger and then ask questions later. They are offering an alternative to Steam that up until now had little to no competition. There are bound to be bumps in the road and this is one of them. Still, I believe that companies can be redeemed and as such, I'm not giving up Epic because of this one issue - especially considering the alternatives. And as for Steam, I'm willing to use other launchers that will support games that are not absolute dumpster fires, despite the fact that I play most of my games through Steam. Because Epic Games does have partnerships with Humble Bundle and other game developers, I'm willing to give them that chance. And I would rather not have to deal with crappy asset flips, terrible business practices, and controversies galore in favor of a platform that is willing to give gamers quality products and developers a fair share of their profits.

But that's just me. You don't have to agree.

Until next time.

Article by Susan N.

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