And now for something completely different, aside from the fact that I’m attaching the [insert title] name to this blog. Also no fancy banner, even though I could've easily done it but felt lazy. Whatever.

E3

So, how about that show, huh?

I almost went into this E3 without any sort of hype or excitement. Past couple of years, it’s been the few weeks leading up to E3 that I realize that the show is upon us and I get super excited. This year it wasn’t until just this last weekend, after perusing the E3 GIF thread on NeoGAF and getting C’Mon ‘N Ride It (The Train) stuck in my head (you’re welcome Ryan MacDonald). I was set to do the same stuff as I did last year, watch the Gametrailers stream for the conferences and live show demos, and have a chat going with some people. I expanded the amount of chats open at once, though it was kind of a dumb idea as I kept focusing more on one chat over the other. I even planned to invite some friends over to watch the conferences, but that idea didn’t really materialize.

This year, watching the hype build up like it always does, and then watching it come to a crash all around me (some of my friends in the chats included), actually left me thinking a lot more about the thought process behind the show, and the people viewing it, and other odd things. Before I get into any of that stuff, how about the press conferences?

Microsoft

I’ve not had any interest in Microsoft for quite a few years, mostly around when Kinect was shown in 2010. I don’t have a 360, so anything they showed thinking that it would get people like me to buy the system had no sway. I already know I would want a 360 only to play the XBLA games that are exclusive on there. The focus on apps was disappointing, Halo 4 looks interesting except for the part where it still plays like Halo (and I don’t like playing Halo), No Dave Lang on stage for Wreckateer, Resi 6 and COD BLOPS 2 demos did not show as well as I was expecting based on what impressions earlier in the year led me to believe. And South Park segment was great, best part. The people in my chat rooms weren’t Microsoft fans to begin with, so it had no sway on them either.

EA

Gotta say, Dead Space 3 derailed discussion of the conference with two people I know who were HUGE Dead Space fans, and were fucking pissed. Sim City looked fantastic, as did Need for Speed Most Wanted, the rest had no interest to me. At least they showed games and just games.

Ubisoft

Great games, sandwiched between shitty presentation. Rayman Legends looks awesome, loved that level that was in time to the music. I was wowed by the movement and traversal in Assassins’ Creed 3. ZombiU trailer gave me an odd reminder of the Ghost Recon Future Soldier trailer from last year. Far Cry 3 still looks awesome. Finally, Watch_Dogs got me super interested and excited. Made me think of a cyberpunk Hitman of sorts. At least I hope it’s as open as a Hitman game and not entirely scripted.

Sony

Did not expect to see David Cage’s new game. No game play, but it was very intriguing. I’m interested in Playstation All Stars Battle Royale, no matter how much of a Smash Bros. rip off is and how much my friends in one of the chats shat on it (you can probably figure out what company they’re fans of). Wonderbooks went on WAY too long, even if I find the concept somewhat interesting but I stopped paying attention a third of a way through that demo. God of War Ascension looks like God of War, and Last of Us looks incredible.

Nintendo

The conference that most of my friends were waiting to see. Show started strong with Pikmin. Kinda went all over the place with the games they showed and the focus given to them, and ending with Nintendo Land elicited not quite but close to Wii Music levels of disinterest and hate. Reggie calling people out on the “My body is ready” shit was great. Also, mystery Wii U game was revealed after the conference, though having that be the final piece of the conference would’ve been better.

Conference Aftermath

Pretty much everything that the internet reacts to in a negative fashion, I tend to be neutral and passive on the subject. Or rather, I understand their complaints but choose not to react violently like they do just so I can remain sane (The Dead Space 3 debacle at EA’s conference comes to mind). I don’t know, but after watching Nintendo’s conference, and watching more of Gametrailer’s live stream during that day, I had a few thoughts on my mind.

First and foremost is the emphasis put on these press conferences. I understand well why we all watch these conferences, because we’re expecting announcements from these companies, the megatons and what not. Only one that came to mind was Watch_Dogs. It was a new IP, they presented it in a way that made you intrigued, and it was an actual gameplay demo. That was a legitimate surprise. Not so much everything else. The other games that weren’t known about beforehand that were shown were underwhelming.

And yet, I still come away thinking there were good games at E3 because I find there’s awesome looking stuff like Star Wars 1313, which was featured in NONE of the conferences. It was more interesting to watch the Gametrailers feed throughout the day seeing what new demo they were getting on their show rather than the conferences. And yet the emphasis put on these things, the fact they are now broadcast on television for fucks sake has warped most people’s ideas of what is E3. In past years before the conferences were ever livestreamed on TV, let alone the internet, I was always excited to see Gamespot or IGN (back when they were actually good) write previews on games at the show floor. Nowadays it’s the similar, except that it’s in video form on the internet with companies giving these game demos and explaining some of the concepts at play and what not, asking the developer questions about their game. Heck, sometimes the games were actually better than what the demos at the conferences led people initially to believe.

Even funnier thing about this is that last year’s E3 was pretty much the same deal. None of the conferences really blew anything away, but I still found plenty to be excited about just from the live streams during the show, with all those live demos. You know what’s also the same as last year’s E3 that I loved? Giant Bomb’s E3 podcasts. Loved those last year, and what Giant Bomb has put out this year has been just as good and worth it for me to listen to them repeatedly when I’m bored or playing a game (well, except Day 0. Fuck Pachter).

So What Am I Excited For?

Quite a bit. I’ve prepared a list, and a short blurb for each game of why I’m interested in it. All in no particular order. And mostly very short. Don't ask for me to justify any more on why I'm excited or interested, I just know.

	Pikmin 3 Loved Pikmin 1, never played Pikmin 2 but want to. I'm ready for new Pikmin.
	Project P-100 Ridiculous that this wasn't at the Nintendo conference, but whatever, Kamiya has never made a bad game, so it has to be great.
	Watch_Dogs Excited at the concept of a cyberpunk Hitman. I'm intrigued
	Star Wars 1313 Not a huge Star Wars fan, but it looks cool. Star Wars meets Uncharted is fine by me.
	Beyond: Two Souls Like I said, did not expect David Cage to announce his next game so soon, and it seems intriguing. Acting and dialog from what they showed looked like it wasn't people trying to act american and do weird pronounciation of words. No idea how it will play, but again I'm interested (why else would it be in this list?)
	The Last Of Us Was impressed with the Sony conference demo. Looks great. Probably don't need to see anything else of it. Already sold. Ellie kicks ass.
	Sim City I have not played a Sim City game since 2000, and haven't touched a game like it since. Looks whimsical and fun, so I'm excited. And also not as complex (hated setting up water pipes and shit).
	Need for Speed Most Wanted Burnout Paradise and NFS Hot Pursuit had a baby and it's this game. What else could I say?
	XCOM Enemy Unknown Love the idea of original XCOM, this looks even cooler and is paying great tribute to that game. Super pumped. Also no idea why I forgot to list this game when I was first making this list.
	Lego City Undercover Looks tongue and cheek in a way that I was not expecting to like. Open world Lego game like GTA? Sure, why not?
	Paper Mario Sticker Star I'm glad that the 3DS showcase had a demo of it, because otherwise I would have thought it would be the same as past Paper Marios but with stickers. Turns out it's much more than that. And it looks fun.
	Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon I still need to find a copy of Luigi's Mansion 1, but regardless, it's another Nintendo first party game that I will play, and most likely buy. Looks cool.
	New Super Mario Bros. U Yeah, it's another New Super Mario Bros. game, so it will play the same and be fun. Also those backgrounds are gorgeous
	New Super Mario Bros. 2 Yeah, two New Super Mario Bros. games and I'm looking forward to them. So what if you don't like the fact that there's two this year, I'll like what I want.
	Assassin's Creed III I hadn't really played any Assassin's Creed since the first one, and I admired what AC2 and Brotherhood did, but this one has me sold. The traversal from tree top to tree top has me on board because it looks so good.
	Rayman Legends I couldn't stop watching the rhythm level over and over again because it looks so good. Can't wait. I want more of those kind of levels.
	ZombiU Possibly the Wii U's Red Steel, but the use of the touch screen on the game pad have me interested. If they play up the survival aspect enough and do it right this could be awesome.
	Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Dumb as fuck subtitle aside, game looks pretty awesome now. Action looks fast and over the top the way that I would expect from Platinum. Wanna play it.
	Borderlands 2 Same boat as the Giant Bomb crew. Don't need to see anything else about it. Loved Borderlands, give me Borderlands 2 now.
	Aliens: Colonial Marines I trust Gearbox to make this a good game. They sure seem enthusiastic about it (well, Randy is) and I'll believe them as well. Enjoyed the Marine sections in Aliens versus Predator 2, the closer this game is to that I'll be satisfied.
	Dishonored Deus Ex style emergent gameplay from the creators of the Ultima Underworld spiritual sequel Arx Fatalis. Nothing else needs to be said about why I want this game.
	Far Cry 3 Ubisoft Fucktreal had me interest in Far Cry 3 last year and did it again this year. Voss is still a totally cool and interesting character. Gameplay looks good, too.
	Injustice: Gods Among Us Superman can punch dudes into orbit and then send them flying back down to earth. Sold.
	South Park: The Stick of Truth I have no idea what the gameplay will be like, but the trailer was funny, and Matt Stone & Trey Parker talking about it at the Microsoft Conference was entertaining. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

And that's it. Told you they were short. Maybe half assed, but again, I don't care. They're already justified in my mind.

Games I've Been Playing

Well, not a whole lot. Started Max Payne 3 last weekend, and Max is currently bald. I like it so far. My Max Payne blog was gonna be this week, but I’ve pushed it back due to not playing much this week due to E3. This also goes for every other game I’ve got scheduled to write about.

Things Other Than Games

Work. Work is hard.

In Conclusion

Yeah, this E3 blog was something last minute, and instead of waiting until Saturday I wanted it out of the way ASAP so I could think more about playing games this weekend rather than writing about them on the weekend.

Peace.