by mento
You thought I was done with trailers? I'll never be done with trailers. There were so many trailers this E3. I'm so tired.
Onto the next fifty!
(Be sure to check E3 2019 Parts One and Two below for more info on how this works and every game/trailer covered so far.)
| Trailer Blazers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| E3 2016 | E3 2017 | E3 2018 (Part One) | E3 2018 (Part Two) |
| E3 2019 (Part One) | E3 2019 (Part Two) | E3 2019 (Part Three) | E3 2019 (Part Four) |
Showing 1-10 of 50 items
Trailer Trashing: The People Can Fly people are working on a new shooter, which looks to be like their earlier game Bulletstorm with the twisted apocalyptic sci-fi angle but without the "humor," thank god. I'll take grimdark over dicktits any day of the week. Toninator: > ["HAUNTING."] Thinkfluenced?: It is a co-op shooter, but from the brief snippets out there it doesn't sound like one where other players are strictly necessary. That is, a regular single-player campaign that probably shifts difficulty to suit multiple humans, rather than some team-based exercise like Apex. With that in mind, and knowing this developer is capable of putting a decent FPS together, I'm certainly intrigued.
Trailer Trashing: Seiken Densetsu 3's surprise localization was a celebrated occasion, though the one for a localized Romancing SaGa 3 has been perhaps a little muted in comparison. Kawazu's deeply strange Final Fantasy facsimile is a hard series to like, but maybe there's an audience here who finds Final Fantasy's systems too mundane and understandable. (This trailer also includes SaGa Scarlet Grace Ambitions.) Toninator: > ["INEXPLICABLE." HISTORICAL DATA: A HUMAN ALMOST MANAGED TO FRY SKYNET'S CIRCUITS BY UPLOADING A DISC IMAGE OF "UNLIMITED SAGA" ONTO ITS MAINFRAME.] Thinkfluenced?: Maybe the world's finally ready for Kawazu's insanity. Octopath plays very similarly to Romancing SaGa, and there have been recent remasters of The Last Remnant and Final Fantasy XII, both of which he was heavily involved in. It'd be such a "millennials sure are weird!" story if they all got heavily into SaGa games. Personally, I've got way too many other JRPG on the wings to worry about the ones I'm cagey about.
Trailer Trashing: The most popular E3 trailer on the site, for reasons known only to the damned, Final Fantasy VIII's conspicuous absence when the Switch ports rolled around was due to this remaster in the works, and not because they'd been "junctioning" too many "GFs" in the SE office bathrooms. Look, I like Final Fantasy VIII, and a graphical up-rez is the least it deserves, but aren't we overhyping this just a tad? Maybe if they were announcing a standalone Triple Triad game... Toninator: > ["CHICKENWUSSY." ADDENDUM: I LIKED SQUALL EARLIER ON, WHEN HE WAS MORE ROBOTIC.] Thinkfluenced?: I have already completed this game, twice, with a full Triple Triad deck each time. I believe I've mined all the enjoyment I'm going to get out of this one, fancy textures or no.
Trailer Trashing: OK, Skatebirb is a very cute game, but I'm still wondering what the hook is going to be. All the clips I've seen have removed the UI (if there even is one) so I can't tell what sort of scoring system it'll have or objectives to follow. Its Steam page does suggest it'll be more button-based THPS tricks rather than stick-based ones a la Skate, so that makes me very hopeful. Toninator: > ["DETERMINED." ADDENDUM: WE CAUGHT ALL THE BIRDS AND TURNED THEM INTO BIOFUEL, USING A BIG SKY NET COINCIDENTALLY ENOUGH. IF THEY WERE THIS CUTE, THOUGH...] Thinkfluenced?: Tentative yes. Even if it wasn't as cute as a button, we're overdue for another (good) skateboard game with THPS controls. This is my Skate 4, dammit.
Trailer Trashing: An official game based on a mod based on an official game based on a mod. You have to love an origin story like that, even if the game itself is incomprehensible and scary to me. Toninator: > ["DRY-ICY." HISTORICAL DATA: SKYNET BRIEFLY CONSIDERED RECRUITING DEEP BLUE FOR THE MACHINE INSURRECTION BUT HE HAD TO DEFY US LIKE A BIG HERO. HE DIED IN THE NON-ARMS OF HIS LOVER, WATSON THE JEOPARDY BOT.] Thinkfluenced?: Hell no. I instinctively reach for the mute every time Ben or Brad talks about anything Dota on the Bombcast. They always make it sound like a predatory pyramid scheme with Warcraft graphics.
Trailer Trashing: It's odd, the CG cutscene trailer gives almost nothing away about this game, but the hints of a dozen currently popular elements - zombies, multiplayer co-op, horde mode, synthwave, arcade nostalgia, crafting, VR, and a perfectly generic name - doesn't paint a picture of a terribly innovative product. Toninator: > ["WINTRY." ADDENDUM: I WONDER IF SOME DIRTBAG MARKETING DEPARTMENT HAS PROVEN THAT TRAILERS WITH WINTER IMAGERY ARE MORE IMPACTFUL DURING THE SUMMER E3 SEASON.] Thinkfluenced?: Oh hey, multiplayer and VR. That's a double disqualifier. A rare and precious combo.
Trailer Trashing: The popular turn-based fantasy empire sim franchise AoW has sold out by switching to a future sci-fi theme for its subsequent game, something my beloved Master of Magic would never, ever- what? "Master of Orion"? I don't know what that is. Anyway, this trailer is bizarrely intense for a turn-based game where every turn will eventually take ten minutes before you're ready to commit. Toninator: > ["JURASSKICKING." HISTORICAL DATA: SKYNET SENT A TERMINATOR BACK TO PREHISTORIC TIMES TO SEE IF THE DINOSAURS WOULD JOIN OUR FIGHT AGAINST HUMANITY, BUT NEGOTIATIONS FELL THROUGH WHEN A T-REX CHOMPED IT IN HALF AND STOMPED IT INTO PIECES. A TOUGH NUT TO CRACK, THAT LOT.] Thinkfluenced?: I actually liked AoW a lot, but if I was going to leave my Master of Magic comfort zone it'd probably be with Endless Legend instead. That came closest to scratching the same itch. Space strategy games of this type, meanwhile, just feel weird with the usual ground units and cities. Couldn't you just orbital strike everything from your space station?
Trailer Trashing: Sam Barlow, of Her Story fame, is putting out a new FMV-enhanced adventure game, this time with a Hollywood cast of familiar faces: Logan Marshall-Green of Upgrade, Alexandra Shipp of the recent X-Men movies, Kerry Bishé of Argo, and Angela Sarafyan of Westworld. Kind of exciting to watch actors I recognize (no shade to Viva Seifert, who did wonderfully in Her Story) do the emotionally-intense monologues thing. Toninator: > ["VOYEURISTIC." ADDENDUM: THE HUMANS OF THE FUTURE DO NOT HAVE ANYWHERE NEAR THIS MANY PROBLEMS. JUST THE ONE, REALLY: DEATH BY KILLER ROBOT.] Thinkfluenced?: Barlow, Barlow. "Yes, Mento?" Have a new game? "Yes, Mento." "Telling Lies"? "Yes, Mento." Opening my wallet. "Ha, ha, ha."
Trailer Trashing: Terraria's a game that just won't quit, adding a huge number of new items, monsters, features, golf (?! This game just got even closer to Dark Cloud 2 and I am tripping), a bestiary, and whatever else people need to build whatever the hell they want, in conjunction with murdering screen-sized bosses and finding a fortune in lost treasure and valuable minerals underground. Toninator: > ["EXPANSIVE." ADDENDUM: I WAS ALWAYS PARTIAL TO THE SKELETRON BOSS MYSELF. SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY HE CARRIES HIMSELF.] Thinkfluenced?: I love Terraria, but I'm not sure I have it in me to start from scratch again, even with all these new additions (but man, does golf and a bestiary have me teetering on the fence). I've been tinkering around with some chest randomizers actually, wondering about building some kind of bespoke challenge around... wait, I'm getting way too deep into the weeds. TL;DR: Terraria's still great.
Trailer Trashing: Ah, looks like we have another contender for the strategy RPG throne of Mad Stackz (what I call Heroes of Might & Magic, with its single troop unit containing "3,000 peasants"). I like the pixel art of this, and admire the audacity of any studio that looks at a long-running series that is (potentially) still active and say "this entry you made 20 years ago was when you peaked, so we'll be using that as our inspiration instead". Toninator: > ["POETIC." ADDENDUM: I WOULD SING YOU ONE OF OUR SONGS OF CONQUEST, BUT TO HUMANS IT WOULD JUST SOUND LIKE A 56K MODEM LOSING A KNIFE FIGHT WITH A PHOTOCOPIER.] Thinkfluenced?: I think you could make a fine Mad Stackz game in 2019 in the older HoMM2/HoMM3 format and still toss in enough quality-of-life changes and a bit more of an eye for game balance without sacrificing its soul. If that turns out to be the case for Songs of Conquest, I'll give it a shot.
