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 Corner! - E3 Part 2 of 2

On day two of Chalgyr's E3 coverage, we take a look at the conferences put on by EA, Microsoft, Bethesda, Devolver Digital, and Nintendo. I cover as many of the games as I can in this final article covering E3.

Let's begin!

EA Conference

I was worried that EA would set the tone for the rest of the conferences at E3. That said, I'm sure more people were interested in the games they mentioned, but I felt like this was the worst conference overall. EA doesn't release games that I play, especially after the whole Sims 4 debackle...

First up were Jedi: Fallen Orders and a Battlefront II update which would feature content from Clone Wars. While I know that many people are massive fans of the Star Wars franchise, I've not been among them for quite some time. I'm especially not interested in a series that is developed by a company that has had some of the worst anti-consumer practices in video gaming.

Next up was the trailer for Unravel Two, a game where the protagonist is made out of wool. It's a neat looking title and has potential to be fun. The concept of a puzzle platformer as a woolen character is intriguing. The music used in the trailer is quite nice. I have hopes for this title, despite my reservations for its publisher.

Sea of Solitude's trailer was showed next in the lineup and I'm not quite sure what this game is supposed to be. Is this a psychological thriller/walking simulator? It's hard to tell from the trailer. That said, I do like the music choice for this game. It really hammers home the idea that you are alone in this universe, as far as we can tell. Anyways, it's a teaser trailer so keep your eyes peeled for future information on this title.

At this point in the conference, I became upset. As an RTS fan who has played at least a little bit of Command and Conquer, I was insulted that the series has moved to the mobile market. Sure, gamers aren't all PCMasterrace, but taking such a beloved franchise and throwing it on a mobile device feels like EA is doing it a huge disservice. The short gameplay presentation was used to showcase how fun mobile games can be, and it was played by Geoff "iNcontroL" Robinson and commentated by Nathan "Nathanias" Fabrikant. Suffice it to say, using these two people made this section even remotely palatable. Don't get me wrong though, I won't be playing this title.

The game that I have some hope for is Anthem. It looks gorgeous and does resemble Destiny in various ways. But because this is an EA title, it tells me that this game could be great if it was published by any other company. I believe Anthem has potential to be an amazing game but not with its current restraints, and that is unfortunate. It reminded me that EA does have some great ideas for video games, but often goes about things the wrong way. You need to earn our trust EA...

Again, I've never been known for liking standard military FPS games, so it should be no shock that Battlefield V: Bad Company would not be high on my excitement list. That said, this game does have a decent fan base. Last year, EA took a huge step forward by releasing a World War I setting game, which no other shooter had done (to my knowledge). Again, for those that like the Battlefield games, this title has a decent reputation. So I say go for it, if you are so inclined. Just don't be surprised when the publisher does something dumb.

Of course, it wouldn't be EA if there weren't any sports games announced. This year is FIFA 19 and Madden Overdrive. One is soccer while the other is football. Though EA is known for their sports titles, I've never been a fan of sports games on computer. I enjoy playing soccer with people. I enjoy actually watching football games. I don't enjoy watching terrible AI's play the games for me. That's just me.

I'm glad that the EA conference was slotted first because it meant that titles I am not interested in, wouldn't bring down my E3 viewing experience (although, there were other conferences that I was upset about, but I'll get into those later).

Watch all the game trailers for EA here:

Microsoft Conference

In my opinion, Microsoft had one of the best line ups next to the PC gaming conference. Among highly anticipated titles for me personally were: Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Forza Horizon 4, Devil May Cry 5, Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, BATTLETOADS, Gears of War 5, and Cyberpunk 2077.

Ori is just a beautiful game and I love watching it, even though I'm terrible at platformers. Sekiro looks like an interesting game to play, although we'll see if I play it. Forza Horizon 4 sold me by using a McLaren in the initial races. Devil May Cry 5 – do I really need to say anything about this title? I mean, come on! Anyways, Cuphead I'm excited for because I had the extraordinary opportunity to talk with one of the programmers about the game on another site. Cuphead in 2017 ended up taking away a couple of awards from The Game Awards, so I'd say, the game has earned its place.

BATTLETOADS! Was I hallucinating? NO! They are bringing back Battletoads! I'm completely stoked for this game to come back and wreck today's gamers like it did for many of us years before. I will beat that level even if it kills me! You know what I'm talking about...(PY: Does PTSD count in this case? Oh god how easy people have it now adays...)

Gears of War 5 wasn't the only Gears title that was announced this year. There is also a Funko Pop version of the game! I think it's awesome and will probably add that game to my guilty pleasures list. They also mentioned a mobile Gears game but since we already know what I'm likely to say about that, I don't need to repeat myself.

Finally, the title everyone speculated to be announced at E3 was Cyberpunk 2077. This has been a highly anticipated game for quite some time. I fall in line with the populous here. Cyberpunk 2077 looks extremely polished for a science fiction story. You get to go to the city of dreams, at least in this universe, and live out the kind of life you want. Besides, that car looks sweet as hell. Players will be protagonist "V" who is a cybernetically enhanced person. The game screams of awesome and it has a reputation to live up to. That said, this is done by CD Projekt Red so I know they will deliver. Check out their website for it.

Other titles that gamers were excited to see were Halo Infinite, Crackdown 3, Metro: Exodus, a Sea of Thieves DLC, a full release of We Happy Few, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, Session, Black Dessert, Tunic, Jump Force, and Dying Light 2.

All of these title had people buzzing with excitement but nothing caused as much of a reaction as this one game... Fallout 76 has been talked about and speculated for weeks now. As advertised during the conference, Fallout 76 is going to be four times the size of Fallout 4, and will be a prequel to all of the other games. It is also going to be an online game meaning that players can choose to work together to survive. There are a bunch of mini videos that were showcased to explain more about Fallout 76 so be sure to check those out.

Take a look at the full Microsoft Xbox Conference for all the exciting game trailers:

Bethesda Conference

The Bethesda conference began with a performance by Rock Jesus, which did not amuse me in the slightest. After such an epic Microsoft line up, I was expecting the hype to increase, not tank. And this conference was filled with games that I'm not excited about.

Among the announced titles are: Rage 2, Elder Scrolls: Legends – a relaunched card game that is free to download, Doom: Eternal, Quake Champions, Prey: Typhoon Hunter, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot – VR, and a mobile game called Elder Scrolls: Blades.

Later this year, a new IP called Starfield will be revealed to the world. Not much is known about this game except that it will be single player.

The biggest announcement for most people in this conference was the news about Elder Scrolls VI. Fans of the Elder Scrolls series are hyped for this title though, Todd Howard has said that it will not be released until after Starlink launches. Who knows when that will end up being?

As a gamer that isn't particular interested in any of these games, Bethesda's conference for me was not very exciting. It was downright boring, but that's not to say that these games aren't worth the hype they received. Elder Scrolls is a large series and highly beloved. Doom is one of the very first FPS games ever produced with Quake not far behind it. Wolfenstein has attracted a large audience over time which is why Bethesda has invested time in another game as well as a VR title. Just because these games aren't interesting for me, doesn't mean it wasn't a good conference.

Take a look at the whole presentation here:

Devolver Digital

As history would dictate, Devolver Digital entered onto the stage with a bang. In fact, after the twenty one minute conference, my head was spinning. They announced three games and one other thing.

Scum is a survival shooter game with zombies that forces the player to be careful about what they eat. The game is designed as a reality TV show where prisoners try to escape from an island. The game is meant to be complicated and was created to keep the survival games genre alive, at least, that is according to a statement made by creative director Tomislav Pongrac when he spoke to the people at Variety.com.

My Friend Pedro was announced next. It is a 2D side scrolling action platformer that has a fighting game graphics style. Players will be able to shoot at bad guys in a slo-motion way. The game also features a replay section at the end of each level which showcases a player's impressive skills. It looks like a ton of fun to play, and I can't wait to see what kind of reception it receives.  

Finally, Devolver Digital showed a trailer for Metal Wolf Chaos XD which is set to release later this year. (PY: WOOT! Mech! Explosions! A filler for the lack of Armored Core. I love From, but where are my mechs? Mech Souls... hm...) This is a game that has come back to light. Originally Metal Wolf Chaos was released in Japan in 2004. Now, it is developed by From Software, and will bring the mech game to Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Players will be the President of the United States and are fighting against a revolution which began with your own Vice President. It could be an interesting game.

In the middle of this conference, Devolver Digital also released a new currency called Loot box coin, which felt distinctly like a meme. Since the conference, I've discovered that Loot box coin is actually a purchasable item. Honestly, it felt like the biggest joke of a conference just based on the presentation, but it turns out that the coin is legitimate. I wasn't the only one to think the item was a joke either. Polygon, TheVerge, and PC Gamer all covered this investment item which costs over a hundred dollars. I'm not sure what the purpose of obtaining a loot box coin is, but it's great for a laugh. Maybe they are secretly making a point that anyone will buy these things... Who knows?

Take a look at the full short conference here:

Nintendo's Conference

I could talk about all the titles that Nintendo announced, but frankly it went by quickly enough that the montage video was the only content shown for each title.

Pokemon Lets Go Pikachu releases November 16th and appears to have a Tamagatchi-like item. Super Mario Party is releasing for the Switch. Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a new game releasing for the Switch in the Spring of next year. Overcooked 2 will have more receipes and the ability to throw ingredients across the kitchen. Killer Queen Black is a team based game launching on the Switch later this year. Arena of Valor will release in the fall. Splatoon 2 releases in the summer of this year. Crash Bandicoot gets another title which surprised many gamers. Carcassanne, the popular board game, gets a version on the Switch. And Megaman 11 launches on October 2nd – this is probably the most interesting title for me personally. I love Megaman! Though, we didn't get to see much on any of these games.

There are a bunch of other games that were featured in the montage video, so I'll leave those to discover in the link below.

What I have to say is that Nintendo's conference was a let down for me. While there were several games shown in the montage video, the conference revolved entirely around Super Smash: Ultimate. (PY: I really don't see an issue with this!) I get it, the game is Nintendo's only eSport, making them tons of money. However, spending an hour of time showcasing matches with some of the new characters ended up being boring. One or two matches would have been fine to showcase, but an hour of gameplay in only one game was not what was expected. And because that section was so long, I lost every bit of hype for any of the other announcements made prior to it.

Nintendo does have some excellent games in their lineup and I completely understand why it's a popular system. I'm glad that the Switch is getting more titles to allow the console to be competitive in the current marketspace, but since I don't own anything Nintendo, I didn't find this conference that interesting. I just wish that they didn't focus so much on one thing, effectively negating having anything else to showcase. As such, I was highly disappointed with this conference to the point that I walked away from the keyboard.

Nintendo. You have some awesome titles other than Mario and Smash. Stop forgetting about your other games!

Anyways, here is the montage video of Nintendo's E3 conference without the hour of Smash matches.

Final Thoughts

As I said before, the best conference for me was Microsoft. They presented nothing but games, are launching titles that I'm excited for, and didn't break my soul or ears with strange musical performances. Other conferences had some titles that hold potential and are interesting, but overall Microsoft had everything I was looking for from an E3 experience. But that's just me! I know many people are excited over Bethesda's announcements and Nintendo's announcements.

Let us know what titles you are interested from EA, Microsoft, Bethesda, Devolver Digital, and Nintendo's conferences.

Until next time!


Article by Susan N.

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