What's that? Lucas isn't doing an anti-MS blog?

Anywho, moving on.

Today, the world is playing this game.

EDIT: It's been pointed out to me that these creatures in the game are not zombies, but living breathing infected. They are zombie-like in nature, so that explains the confusion.  To avoid me having to replace every zombie with infected, from this point on just read zombie as infected.  If anything else is contextually out of place, chalk it up to late night proofreading.

I would be included in that group.  I went to Best Buy today to pick it up, and I've spent a good four or so  hours on it. I will say, as an experience, the game's phenomenal.  Its sense of atmosphere and tension is quite immerserve. I love the graphics and the way the characters are portrayed. And the surprises?  Emotional. Loving the story. 

But.. the gameplay fails to win me over.

It's not a very good stealth game

I remember Tom catching some flak for this in his review of the game, but he's right. The rediculous enemy AI really disrupts the immersion. Enemies have poor eye sight, even the humans, not being able to spot you at the other end of the hall. You're obviously jutting out from a corner, right next to them while they're looking your way, and they still don't see you. Your partners will run right in front of enemies at times, and won't set off their alarms. 

The biggest issue I have with the stealth is the Clickers.  These mutated zombies are supposed to have highly tuned senses of hearing, and the game even tells you they can hear you when you're crouched.  Yet, I can creep right by them moving at full crouching speed and they just keep hobbling about. My AI partners fumble into them; we vault obstacles; I can take a zombie out right next to a Clicker, and its none the wiser.  If I can "hear" them through walls, they should be able to hear us talking to each other from three feet away.  It's just flatout dumb. 

It's not a very good action-adventure game

Now, this is obviously subjective, because some people really enjoy the action; I don't.  I think the shooting's terrible.  Granted, I might suck at it, but I find it not very fun at all to even try to use my guns when the ammo is so scarce, even by survival horror standards.  Plus, the melee isn't the best, and sometimes you can't even escape from getting jumped even when you're prompted to.  

I know this isn't Uncharted, but the the Uncharted comparisions will inevitably be made. Naughty Dog's previous three titles have been Uncharteds, and the way The Last of Us is presented storywise exhibits a bit of an Uncharted vibe, just with a post-apocalyptic theme instead of a treasure hunting one. So, instead of climbing majestic mountains and scaling ancient architecture, I slink through dirty alleyways, muck about in sewers and crawl through dilapidated buildings, all without any climbing (there's the normal hoisting one's self over a ledge, but that's it). This makes the downtime between each action scene less interesting, at least to me. 

It's not a very good zombie/survival horror game

I say this because it really isn't as scary as it should be. I jumped in a couple places, but it was one of those "BOO!" type scares. The zombie designs are very typical, and the Clicker designs are a joke. It's like someone had a bad intern exam of making a Headcrab mask, and put it over a zombie's head. They also wander around sometimes like they were comical versions of themselves, more drunk then they are infected, not to mention the guards that can't make up their minds which way they want to investigate something. Also, there are some freshly turned zombies that just stand in one place, crying, with their head in their hands.  When I first saw this, I thought, "OOOOH!  THE WITCH!" from Left for Dead. Walked right up to it killed it with no problem. 

Don't get me wrong, though, the game's definitely worth playing, and any PS3 owner should add it to their library. I'm just not one of the many people going, "OOH PERFECT GAME! 10" like the rest of the Internet.  The presentation is just outstanding, clearly a product of the Naughty Dog pedigree. The gameplay itself, however, falls short of perfect. Again, I find myself agreeing with Tom McShea.  Poor guy, gets so much hate and outrage aimed towards him when really... he's just voicing an honest opinion that happens to be in the minority.

Now if I can, I just want to talk about AAA games being overhyped. In my mind, this is one of them. It seems that the majority of the gaming populace is too easily wowed with high production values.  All it takes is amazing graphics, full of set pieces and explosions - or in The Last of Us's case, zombies - and halfway decent gameplay to become a stellar game. Too often, they're blown away by the cutscenes and the world and the characters that they don't spend enough time focusing on the game's weaker points. It seems GameSpot's harsher scoring criteria should be adopted by more people, I'm not saying low ball games to just low ball them (and really Tom's score of an 8 is far from low balling), but I'm saying that 9s and 10s shouldn't be handed out to AAA games just for showing up.. 

I don't think many can deny that this year's E3 hasn't been great. If there are any, feel free to speak up. Yet, there's always one or two notable industry heads who have to rattle the cages; often needlessly. I'll stick to a statement that analyst Michael Pachter, the man who predicted The Walking Dead couldn't win Game of the Year, has mentioned over the last few days. He stated that the PS Vita will fail, with claims like: "Nobody cares about playing the Vita on a train."

I don't want to dwell too much on that, other than to state that needless negativity on a viable but underrated product can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy, when muttered repeatedly. So, to turn the tide around, please take a look at the great things the PS Vita is doing at E3 2013. All of the clips below are from games coming to the handheld and all look like pretty cool titles. Hopefully, they will be as entertaining as they appear.

Nintendo's E3 showing this year was definitely different, and the reason behind it is not restricted to the fact they decided not to do a conference. Known as a company that knows how to keep its secrets, on an age where information leaks are commonplace, the biggest Nintendo Direct up to this day was marked by - among other things - the fact that there were barely any surprises. On the months leading up to E3, prominent people inside the company stepped forward to assure gamers that a new Mario platformer, the latest installment of the Mario Kart series, and the first showing of the upcoming Super Smash Bros would all be there. And in the end, that was precisely what Nintendo had to show. With the exception of Donkey Kong: Tropical freeze, Nintendo's show delivered precisely what was expected. The lack of a surprise factor becomes clear in the perception that the addition of a new character to the Smash Bros roster - the amazing Mega Man - was the most shocking moment of the event; and although the absence of the unexpected does remove some of the impact, the overall assessment is that Nintendo put on a good, not excellent, show.

It is hard to tell precisely what pushed the company into showing its cards so early, but it likely had something to do with the pressure that the Wii U's commercial woes created within the Kyoto headquarters. Whatever the reason was, it looks like that during the next one year and a half, the Wii U will receive a solid flow of nice games. Mario Kart 8 is a solid rival to Pikmin 3 when it comes to being the system's biggest visual achievement of the early part of its life-cycle, especially if the game is able to hold a similar graphical quality when other players join in for some local multiplayer fun, which has historically been the series' core element. In addition, its twisted tracks will allow designers to pull off some absolutely outrageous and fun courses, whereas its great online component will add a thick layer of value to a game that will likely become the definitive Mario Kart experience and a display of the Wii U's apparently very well set-up online component.

Meanwhile, Super Mario 3D World understandably received mixed reactions. Obviously, much more was expected from Mario's first 3D high-definition adventure, especially after Nintendo did with Super Mario Galaxy. Instead, what we got was another look into the Super Mario 3D Land elements: a game that was the perfect translation of Mario's linear 2D gameplay into a 3D realm. Due to its linearity and stage design, the game will naturally draw comparisons to Mario Galaxy - a battle that it will most likely lose - but it will undoubtedly be a fun game, and the cooperative gameplay will certainly add some fun, and a whole lot of madness to it. Nintendo's wisest move would be moving away from the linear gameplay for a while and go back to something it has not explored with Mario since 2002's Super Mario Sunshine. Not only would it universally delight its fans, which desperately miss some wide-open exploration after the stellar wacky linearity of the Galaxy games, but it would also avoid any comparisons to a duo of games that are ridiculously hard to match. Still, Super Mario 3D World much like - New Super Mario Bros. U - is bound to prove all doubters awfully wrong.

Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze somehow suffers from the same duality that strikes the newest Mario game. Even if it ends up only being a slight improvement over its predecessor, which was arguably the finest 2D platformer on a generation that saw a fantastic come back of the genre, it will already be an unforgettable title on the Nintendo lore. However, the game comes with a dash of disappointment, because it was thought that Retro Studios was hard at work on either Metroid, which needs some help after Other M, or something entirely different. Still the game will be a great companion to Super Mario 3D World, and it is a clear component of Nintendo's end-of-the-year strategy to release games from their famous franchises in easy-to-play form (one sidescroller, and one 3D representation of that gameplay style) in order to move some Wii U units to the audience that made Mario and Donkey Kong so commercially successful on the last generation.

He fourth highlight of the event, and probably the most awaited game of the whole presentation was Super Smash Bros. Though Namco is involved with the project, the game seems to offer very few changes over Brawl - which is a great thing, although it is very early to confirm that. In the midst of a reveal that was known, the big highlight winded up being the entry of Mega Man, a character that was already heavily speculated for the series' most recent installment and that finally joins the fray; and the ridiculously hilarious introduction of the Wii Fit Trainer as a fighter. The biggest surprise, though, is certainly the fact that the game is coming out next year for both the 3DS and the Nintendo Wii U, at least until a delay is announced. Featuring the same characters, but different stages, it is unknown how and if the games will somehow connect, but until more information is disclosed, the daily insanity of checking the game's site for updates can be enjoyed once more.

Other than the big four, a big number of other titles were shown that will make Nintendo fans be very busy with their systems for the next couple of years. The 3DS seems to finally picking up some steam with Mario and Luigi Dream Team, Yoshi's New Island, A Link Between Worlds, and Pokémon X/Y all hitting the system in the upcoming months. Meanwhile Wii U players will delight themselves with the over-the-top mixture of Vewtiful Joe and Pikmin that is The Wonderful 101; the successor to the fantastic Xenoblade, generally accepted to be the finest JRPG in recent years; Pikmin 3 and its gorgeous visuals; and strong third-party multiplatform games: Batman: Arkham Origins, Assassin's Creed IV and Watch Dogs.

The overall impression that this Nintendo E3 leaves is that the company is still lacking in exclusive third-party support, something that Microsoft and Sony will have from the starting point of their new systems. However, while the first party software unquestionably lacks in game-changing concepts or new material, the little tweaks here and there, and the regularly high quality that Nintendo holds as a standard will make all of their software must-play titles. Although Nintendo's systems have been suffering accusations of having little to no software, it feels like the gaming schedule of anyone that owns both a Wii U and a 3DS will be pretty busy from here onward.

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29406249/x1-only-works-in-21-countries-at-launch.?page=0

I'll stop writing negative Xbox One blogs when MS stops fVcking up. I'm warning you, if you're tired of my MS bashing, leave now.

You that see that massive piece of land shaped roughly like Africa?  That would be Africa. I'm sure Africans are gamers, just like the rest of us, and as one of the seven continents of the world, I'm sure they're a very important part of the world. So, Africa just doesn't seem to be important to MS? I knew their Internet-bound console would leave out millions of gamers, but I had no idea they'd leave out an entire CONTINENT! How can MS be a global market leader when they can't even sell their product to 1/7th of the world? 

It really is sad that we have to see something like this happen all because of a policy that requires something that doesn't need to be always online to be online. 

"Piraters are bad!"

Solution? Fvck Africa. 

"Used games are bad!"

Solution? Fvck Africa

"But teh cloud! It makes games better!"

Not in Africa, because they fvcking can't play those games!

Ok, ok, winding it down a bit. This is only at launch. MS will eventually get Xbox Live working in Africa, or at least a handful of countries there, so that the Xbox One will be able to communicate and authenticate. People in Africa who want an Xbox One will just have to wait. Will it be worth it for them?  How do they feel about this?  And it's not just Africans, but how does the rest of the world's countries feel about being left out at launch, even though the consoles could very easily be shipped there?

Well.. at least they can buy an Xbox 360. 

http://www.gamespot.com/e3/microsoft-xbox-one-will-be-leading-product-people-love-and-embrace-6409895/

Yep, even the people who live in Africa that have perfectly capable internet will not be able to use an Xbox One, but they can still buy a 360. This Don Mattrick is full of shyte. How can the Xbox One be "the leading product people love and embrace" when an entire continent can't use it! I'm getting really tired of this MS damage control. The point of damage control is to... uh... hold on a second.. I know this one... just can't put my finger on it... umm... oh yeah!  TO CONTROL DAMAGE!

Oh, and then there's this new little gem. 

http://www.gamespot.com/e3/microsoft-the-idea-of-ownership-is-morphing-6409910/

Microsoft is trying to tell us that our idea of ownership is changing?  No, THEIR idea of our ownership is changing.  They're trying to tell us that because things are becoming more connected, we have more abilities to use our content than ever before, yet that somehow justifies them taking away our actual rights to ownership.  So, does this excuse all the restrictions they've placed on our games? Does this excuse a policy that cuts out the entire African landmass from being able to play Xbox One?  I love this little bit from the article.

"One example Spencer pointed out was the ability for up to 10 family members to log in and play Xbox One games wherever they are."

THANK YOU MICROSOFT FOR ALLOWING UP TO 10 OF MY FAMILY MEMBERS TO PLAY MY GAMES!  I'm shocked that they tried to make this a positive bulletpoint.  I suppose we should consider ourselves fortunate enough that up to 10 of our family members can access our content, considering every family in Africa can't even access the god damned machine!

And this one here:

http://www.gamespot.com/e3/microsoft-disc-based-market-really-important-for-xbox-one-6409984/

Haha, no they're not!  Discs are useless once they load to the HDD. You don't even need the disc to play once you've installed it. So, because of that, this justifies MS's policy of 24 hour check-ins to validate. If that weren't the case, you could easily pass on the disc to someone else and have them install it and keep passing the disc around. All MS had to do was require the disc to boot, just like previous consoles have done. They only stuck with discs to prevent those opposed to DD from speaking out in rage but if you are REQUIRED to have BB and REQUIRED to install the disc, you might as well just download the games.  Sure, hackers would just get a CD key like they do with PC games, and I guarantee you it's only a matter of time before the Xbox One gets cracked. Then, Africa will be able to enjoy Xbox One. 

One last one: 

http://www.gamespot.com/e3/xbox-one-terms-of-service-prevent-class-action-suits-6410038/

Already set in place in 2011, MS will continue requiring its consumers to waive their rights to class-action lawsuits. To be fair, MS isn't the only doing this, as Sony updated their Terms of Service as well. I am not that keen on that idea, and I'm also suspiscious of the legality of such a policy, but you should always have the right to sue a company if they do you wrong and won't compensate. It's just kind of a shame that we're so eager to give up our rights just to play video games. I know there's an entire continent out there that would love to give up their rights to sue you, MS, just to play your games. 

If you're tired of my MS ranting and you still read up to this point, well, I'm sorry you did.  I warned you... I myself am tired of writing these blogs, but I find that it's therapuetic, even a bit cathartic. I've been gaming for a very long time, probably before some of you were born, and I've never, ever seen fvckery like this. This baffles the mind. And you wonder why the press continues to paint MS in such a negative light. I got news for you. They aren't. It's MS who's painting themselves in a negative light. The press is only directing attention to it. 

Ok, fine. Let me say some negatives about the other companies to make this blog sound a little more fair. I'm sick of Nintendo always rehashing older franchises when they have a number of older franchises they could draw from. Plus, making some new ones wouldn't hurt. And I'm tired of the Wii U collecting dust. We need games, dammit!

I can't believe Sony would charge for online multiplayer now!  Those bastards!  Honestly, that was a major screw up that hurt their mage a little, just when everyone was putting their entire trust in them.  Plus, how the hell can you make such an ugly, ugly console!  It's like I'm looking at the Xbox One, only after five shots of whiskey! 

And well, enough negativity in general.  Here's a video of kittens!

In my previous blog where I defended Microsoft's Press Conference at E3 this year, many comments expressed gamers' desire to not buy an Xbox One due to privacy concerns surrounding the Kinect. So, perhaps it is time to reiterate. At the Xbox One's unveiling several weeks ago, Microsoft gave the impression that the console was 'always on' and would have to be physically unplugged to prevent the mandatory Kinect functions measuring sound and identifying the faces of people in the room. More recent information however suggests that some of these fears may be unwarranted.

According to Xbox One's own offical website, 'you are in control of what Kinect can see and hear' outlining clear privacy options that can be determined by the user at set up. The website also insists 'when Xbox One is on, and youre simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded' and that Kinect, when on, is only listening out for specific voice commands.

Anyone who is familiar with Alienware technology may know most of their computers arrive with software that is able to recognise the face of the user via an integrated webcam instead of a standard password when logging into Windows. This feature can be turned on or off at will. If Microsoft is to be believed, the Kinect features similar options.

Stephen Totilo of Kotaku recently published an article suggesting the Xbox One may not be spying on everyone after all and the confusion surrounding the console stems from mixed messages and unclear advertising from Microsoft during the unveiling. A Microsoft representative explained to him via email; 'yes, you can turn the system completely off' implying the existence of a power button. While Microsoft tauted the consoles ability to be 'always on', their failure to specify that the console could in fact be powered down if the user chooses is likely what sparked the controversy to begin with.

Some concern may have been brought about by the vastly superior Kinect sensor; the ability to see in the dark, capture facial expressions and the option to remain on stand by while still listening out for voice commands may give the impression of being watched.

On article on Digital Spy also confirmed the Kinect sensor itself could be turned off and would not record or upload without permission.

At the moment, the information being released by Microsoft suggests the console will not be spying on its users. The privacy options stated to be available appear to be similar to what is already available on the Xbox 360 which allowed players to block or allow Kinect and the recording of movements and fitness information.

First as Tragedy, Then as Farce

It's been a long time since my last post! To be honest, I've been feeling a bit of generational fatigue, and although I've still been gaming every now and then, the only three games that I've really, passionately played in the last year have been Madden 13, FIFA 13, and MLB 13: The Show. In short, like a lot of gamers out there, I'm ready for some new consoles and some new franchises!

Having followed the early leaks and then the formal announcements of the PS4 and the Xbox One, and now with E3 upon us and the details more or less all filled out, I'm struck by the wisdom of a Karl Marx quotation: history repeats itself, "the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce." It is remarkable, looking at this over the arc of the last twelve years, how much the competition between Sony and Microsoft has consisted of first one side, then the other, making the same mistake again and again: alienating gamers.

Flash back to E3 2006, which was a long seven years ago. The Xbox 360 had been out on the market for six months, and although it had suffered some growing pains, the fundamental business strategy behind Microsoft's second cut at the console gaming market was paying dividends. The 360 was relatively affordable, it was user-friendly, it had great online, and -- most of all -- it was built for gamers. Its best franchises were yet to appear, but we had rich previews of Gears of War (which would be released that November) and the blockbuster, show-changing announcement of Halo 3 (which would come out in Fall 2007).

In comparison, Sony's E3 2006 press conference has gone down in history as one of the most notorious flops in gaming history. A few highlights: $599. Rrriiidddgggeee Rrraaacceerrr! The predictable backlash: gamers were disappointed and vowed to stay away. Sony brushed aside those comments as a few malcontents and insisted that the overall value proposition of the multimedia powerhouse (It does Blu-ray! It does internet!) would make it a huge success. Sony wasn't going to listen to its core consumer -- it was going to tell him, tell her, tell all of us what we really wanted. (In other words, it was going to pull off a trick that only one company -- Steve Jobs's Apple -- consistently and successfully pulled off in that era.)

This was what I would call the first manifestation of the Big-Tent strategy. By Big-Tent, I mean this is how the meetings went down at Sony.

Kaz Hirai: You know, no matter what, the gamers are going to buy our console. The Playstation 2 sold 100 million. We own them. Let's not focus on selling 100 million, which we're going to do no matter what. (Reality check: As of two weeks ago, PS3 had sold 77 million and counting, and it took a long, painful road to get there.) Let's focus on selling the second 100 million to families that otherwise wouldn't buy a video game console.

Ken Kutaragi: Alright, I'm going to load up this console with tons of extras. It's going to have a Blu Ray. Let's make something that people will aspire to own. I want people to see this and say, 'I will work harder to be able to afford a PS3.' (Reality check: oh wait, he actually said this.)

The Big-Tent strategy takes as a given that the core constituency will be on your side in the end, and that the groups that the business should focus on capturing are the far larger numbers of consumers who reside outside the base. This essentially is how presidential poltiics work in the United States, where the Democrats start with their 35 percent, and the Republicans with their 35 percent, and the two then wage war over the undecided middle. (At least, that's how it once was supposed to work, not trying to get into a political science discussion here.)

Of course, the problem with the gaming market, as Sony found out to its great dismay between 2006 and 2008, is that the core constituency can decamp for the other guy far faster than it had ever anticipated. Tons of gamers switched over to the 360, the Wii, or the PC while waiting for Sony to screw its head on straight and do something -- do anything -- that was gamer-focused, that paid attention and care to the needs and desires of the people who bought those 100 million PS2s. In fact, it really took until '08-'09, with the release of Metal Gear Solid 4, Uncharted 2, and the Playstation 3 Slim at the $299 price point, to finally bring the core constituency back onto Sony's side. And by then, Sony had lost huge amounts of time, huge amounts of cash, and -- worst of all -- huge amounts of its credibility.

The Playstation 180

They're calling it the PS4, but in my mind, with all the recent announcements, the new console should be called the Playstation 180. Sony has completely flipped the script on the new console, and largely replicated Microsoft's strategy from the start of the last generation. Here's what Sony is doing right:

1) No used-game lockdown -- this was a huge issue for gamers, and Sony got it dead right by giving people what they wanted;

2) The $399 price point -- a very affordable price for a new console and exactly where the 360 launched eight years ago, which positions PS4 to be the mainstream console of choice;

3) Show us the games! -- PS4's lineup has not been overwhelming, but it's light years ahead of Rrriiddgggeee Racer! Having an exclusive, flagship franchise (Killzone) releasing a new game on day one is huge.

These weren't hard decisions to make if Sony wanted to win gamers over. In essence, the company has learned its harsh lesson, and has made admirable adjustments.

In contrast, Microsoft has been backpedaling in the wrong direction since Sony shifted course in 2009. It is bizarre and evenly slightly sad to see a venerable company, which had finally struck upon a profitable and sound business strategy, changing. And it is even worse when every single change hurts the consumer. Locking the games so you can't sell them used? A $499 price point? These are disastrous distinctions in a world where the vast majority of franchises, especially console-movers like Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and perhaps new IPs like Bungie's Destiny, have gone multi-platform. Why pay an extra $100, and lose the ability to sell a game after completion, for the privilege of playing . . . oh, largely the exact same games one gets on the other guy's console?

This, of course, is the farce half of the march of history. Somehow, somewhere in Redmond, the powers-that-be had a meeting that looked eerily like the Hirai-Kutaragi dialogue I hypothesized above. Of course, they probably added something like, "We're different than them, though. We'll do it better. We'll make it cooler, because we have Kinect and also some flashy stuff like how we can turn the console on just by talking to it." It's this sort of foolishness that ensures that history repeats itself.

Here's to hoping that by 2015-16 Microsoft will have come to its senses, and we'll finally have an Xbox that I can buy.

Ok first just making a few clarifications because the previous Sony blog as I wrote it at 6am and later news showed up.

Kingdom Hearts III and FFXV are not PS4 exclusives not that anyone cares because I think everyone who wants these will get them for the PS4 but aww isn't that cute, MS is still trying to get Japan to like them.

Sony did backpedal going with the "let publishers do DRM if they want thing." No one likes this and sadly if I was Nintendo, I'd give in and do this as well. We can blame it on EA being the schoolyard bully pushing everyone around and getting their way.

Ok onto Nintendo.

Once again, didn't watch the whole show. Work and all, watched some vids but I don't set super high expectations and kinda knew what they had planned to show.

Super Mario 3D World At first I wasn't overly impressed as it appeared as they were taking 3D Land and tossing in a few new things but most importantly, at least for me as a girl. Peach gets to be playable. Clearly Nintendo watched Ana Sarkesian's "Tropes vs. Women" video and said "we'll show her! We'll make Peach playable and we'll make it like SMB2!" Think of it this way. We know Bowser won't be kidnapping her for a change. Also I'm interested to see how the 4 player co-op works in a 3D setting. Hopefully better than Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One did. Also MARIO IS A KITTY!! EEEEEEE!!! I'm sorry I can't help it I love kitties!! Come on all the internet memes that can come from this. Mario can has cheezeburger!!

New DKC: Honestly I think this one let a lot of us down. The game itself looks great and it's great to see Dixie return (again Nintendo putting more active females in games?) but we all were hoping something else from Retro. Some of us thought a new Starfox or Metroid and even rumors of a new IP. The latter was my hope so I could say "see you sods, Nintendo does make new IPs!" You win this time sods.

Mario Kart 8: It looks good but mostly like an upgade of the 3DS game with gravity physics. I'm more interested to see what they do with the online and Miiverse.

Also we got a fair amount of other games shown off sadly many wouldn't see release until 2014. Bayonetta 2 was shown and she got a haircut which I'm told people are mad about The Wonderful 101 which is a new IP is shaping up well. A new Xenoblade gives RPG fans something to look forward to. A bunch of the 3DS games we heard about before were shown in more detail.

And of course our reveal of the next Smash Bros. releasing for both the WiiU and 3DS with the big reveal of a character we were all begging and pleading for to join up. Yes, that's right. The villager from Animal Crossing. Trolololol And the female Wii Fit Trainer because every good fighter needs a joke character but more importantly Megaman is here and he's the old school 8 bit one we remember fondly with all his awesome powers and Rush and hey it's nice to see him in ANYTHING these days. Especially when you consider he didn't get to be in Marvel vs CAPCOM 3.

Of course many will still throw a fit over Nintendo showing off the same stuff and griping about no new Zelda despite seeing more of the new 3DS game and the Wind Waker HD remake but let's face it Nintendo knows that nothing they could do will make everyone happy.

Still better than the Xbox One.

Nintendo impressions
Microsoft Impressions
Sony Impressions

I'm doing to do this one a bit differently. Instead of typing each one out as transcripts like I've usually been doing, I'm going to groups games that I see in three different categories. Games I Want, Games I'm Interested in, and Games I'll Pass On.  I'll still have overall thoughts for each one.  Sorry if the new format caught anyone off guard, but I'm finding myself running out of time. 

EA

Games I Want: 

• Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare - I absolutely loved Plants Vs Zombies. To get more of it is only a good thing. Unfortunately, I'm only hearing about Xbox One and 360.  Exclusive? Anyway, this game's a third-person action game. You can still set up towers, but now you're free to move around and shoot at zombies. The demo looked absolutely fun and exuded charm and humor.  
• Need for Speed: Rivals  - I love Need for Speed so this is a given. Looks like it'l be a reuion of drivers vs cops again. They showed a nifty demonstration where a multiplayer game blended seemlessly into a single player game. The game itself looks really fun, just what I'd expect from an NFS title. Oh, and apparently there's an NFS movie coming out starring Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul. 
• Mirror's Edge 2 - I already saw the trailer before, but I'm enjoying it a second time. And, I'm so relieved that it's going multiplat, because I'd be quite angry if it was Xbox One exclusive.  

Games I'm Interested In: 

• Titanfall - I saw a bit of this during the MS conference.  It looks like a lot of fun, especially when you get in the mechs.  
• Star Wars: Battlefront - This game got a quick tease.  I never played a Battlefront game, but I think I would like to in the future. 

Games I'll Pass On: 

• Dragon Age: Inquistion - Surprised to see this game here?  Well, I was entirely put off by the direction Bioware took Dragon Age 2 in, so the announcement of this title just doesn't do anything for me.  I'm sure it will do great things in its own right, but I doubt I'll be playing it. 
• NBA Live 14 - Not really into sports game that much, but I have to say the bounceTek software they're showing off really helps the game look more realistic. 
• Madden NFL 25 - DIE ALREADY, JOHN MADDEN!
• FIFA 14 - Never been into soccer. But hey, Drake's a real big fan!
• UFC - Seeing a trend here? At least it's nice to see actual UFC athletes endorsing a game they're starring in... "Fight fans everywhere will get to experience this game."  NOT XBONE GAMERS WITHOUT INTERNET!  HO HO HO!
• Battlefield 4 - I just don't like modern war games.  At leat there was a 64 player demonstration... 

So, as you can see, there'ss a lot of games that I'm going to pass on.  Several of them are sports games, and that's why EA conferences generally aren't my favorite E3 conferences to watch.  PvZ: Garden Warfare was a real delight, but I'm really hoping it's going multiplat. Also, they quickly plugged a Peggle 2 announcement, and I loved Peggle, so I'm looking forward to that. There were also a lot of prerendered trailers and teasers with no gameplay footage shown, such as Dragon Age and Star Wars Battlefront.  Ending the show with the Mirror's Edge 2 announcement  did manage to leave a good impression with me though, so overall, personal sports game bias aside...

Rating: C+

Ubisoft

Games I Want:

• Splinter Blacklist - What can I say?  I love the series.  Sucks that Michael Ironside isn't the voice anymore, but I'm sure I'll love the game nonetheless. The preassembled footage looks pretty interesting, and I can't wait to get my hands on it to try it for myself. 
• Rayman Legends - The only question is... what platform do I get it for? They showed off a fun prerendered trailer, and some more gameplay footage.  I honestly cannot wait for this game!
• The Crew - From the trailer they showed, it appears to be come kind of open world driving game. One of the developers came out to talk more about the game, saying that you'll be working your way into a criminal organization. The gameplay demo they showed off looked fantastic.  Originally, I put this in Interested, but I bumped it up to Want.
• Watch Dogs - Maybe I should make a category for I WANT IT FVCKING NOW!  I've been anticipating this one since it was shown at the last E3. I love the unique spin they have on the sandbox genre.  The whole futuristic stealing personal info setting is widly intriguing. They showed off a prerendered trailer. I was hoping for stage demonstration. 
• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - Another must have title. I've been playing the AC games since the first and loved them. The CG trailer looks amazing as usual. And, they showed off another CG trailer as well, soundtracked by some beautiful music. I'm disappointed they didn't show any gameplay footage, though. 

Games I'm Interested in:

• South Park: The Stick of Truth - I know I'll probably want to play it, but I wish they showed off some gameplay.
• Trials Fusion and Trials Frontier - I remember playing the first Trials and it was pretty fun. I wouldn't mind checking them out. 
• The Division - There was a really intriguing and even scary in a paranoid way trailer about the collapse of the world due to a pandemic. The gameplay footage that follows shows a team of people working together as they scout a post apocalypitc city. There's lots of overlaying interfaces, such as maps. Gunplay features a pop and shoot cover system. The reason why I haven't put thsi in the Want category is because I'm not sure if it's online only, or if there's a single play mode.  A story mode would easily bump this up to want.

Games I'll Pass On: 

• Rocksmith 2014 - This is what Ubisoft decides to start their conference with?  Anyway, I'm not into guitars at all, and this is a very complex version of Guitar Hero. Total pass. 
• The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot - It looks like multiplayer dungeon raiding game. It has humor to it, but I just haven't seen enough of the game to say whether or not I'll be intersted in it. They showed off a funny CG trailer.
• Just Dance 2014 - Just not intersted in dancing games. Plus, the song selection sounds like it will be horrible. They had Pitbull during the video, and I can't stand him. Plus, I saw Nikki Minaj's name thrown across the screen, and I can't stand her either. 
• Rabbids Infvasion - This is an interactive TV show?  I wonder how that works. Good thing someone explained it. So, it's using tech on XBox One to point and shoot things at the TV while it's playing the show. And... now I've bumped this down to Pass.

 Overall thoughts: Well, you can see in direction comparison to EA, Ubisoft has a lot more games that I want. I personally feel they had a stronger showing, although I'm disappointed in no gameplay demos for both AC IV and Watch Dogs. I'm very curious about The Division, and I really, really hope it isn't strictly online, because that kills games like that for me. I like to explore at my own pace, and MMOs just ruin that experience. Anyway... I'd have given this conference a higher score except, Aisha Tyler just had to host it again, and featuring a t-shirt with #girlwood across it.  That says it all, right there.  Rating: B

Sony impressions
Microsoft impressions

EA and Ubisoft impressions

Satoru Iwata comes out and shows of a trailer right away.  It's for Pokemon X and Y for the 3DS. I really don't care much about it, because I never got into Pokemon.  I do, however, acknowledge the massive popularity of the franchise, so I know this will be huge. Looks like they've added some pet handling gameplay similiar to what was done in Nintendogs.  It's actually quite adorable. Iwata talks more about the new gameplay elements, including the fairy type, and that it's coming out in October.

Gameplay for the new Super Mario is now being shown. Mario jumps into a new animal suit, runs around bopping enemies, running up walls, etc.  The world looks beautiful and a lot of fun. It looks like you'll be able to play with other characters, such as Princess Peach, Luigi and Toad. There's snow levels, water levels, I saw one with a pipe system, they're riding some kind of water creature, I just saw that football koopa from Super Mario World.  The more of this game that's being shown, the more I want to play it! It's Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U.  Iwata comes out to talk more about it, saying there's online cooperative and competitve play. He also talks about the new animal suit, which is Cat Mario. Man, this just looks like too much fun!  It will be available in December. 

YAY NEW MARIO KART FOOTAGE! Oh man, this is going to be crazy!  I just saw the carts turn into anti-gravity vehicles, and they're riding on vertical surfaces and whatnot.  There's motorcycle and hangliders and the courses themselves look fantastic, if a bit too familiar.  There's a San Francisco inspired track where they jumped over a trolley.  It's Mario Kart 8, and damn I want it now!!!!!!  Iwata comes out again to talk a bit more about it. It's coming out Spring of next year... DAMMIT!

Now he shows off some gameplay footage for Mario Party U. Looks to be a lot of variety. They showed a slot car game that was playable on the gamepad with two players. It looks like you'll be able to play with your Miis in this game. Also, it will be delayed, as it was supposed to be out this summoer . Wii Fit U that was supposed to come out soon is now being delayed to add more features. He's also apologizing for more delays.  Typical.

He mentions how community members are continuously sumbitting incredible drawings. A new Art Academy will be released for Wii U, which will most likely take advantage of Miiverse.  It will be out this summer via eShop. You'll be able to post your artwork directly to Miiverse. It seems cool, and it makes me wish I was an artist, because my drawing ability sucks.

Nwo he talks about third party releases.  A montage is shown featuring Assassin's Creed IV, Batman Arkham Origins, a Batman game for the 3DS, Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut, Disney Infinity, Just Dance 2014 (please stop.. ), Rayman Legends, Scribblenauts Unmasked for both the Wii U and the 3DS, Disney's Planes, Shin Megami Tensai IV for the 3DS, Skylanders SWAP Force for the Wii U and 3DS, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Sonic Lost World (HURRAY!), Watch Dogs. Looks like a lot of support, but the majorit of it seems to come from Ubisoft. 

Iwata talks more about eShop games. Another video shows off Ballpoint Universe, Cloudberry Kingdom, Coaster Crazy Deluxe, Ducktales: Remastered (HURRAY!), Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystera, Mutant Mudds Deluxe, Oddworld: New 'N' Tasty, Scram Kitty and His Buddy on Rails, Shovel Knight, Spin the Bottle: Bumpies Party, A World of Keflings. Seems a lot of indie games are coming their way to Nintendo systems. Nothing really got me excited, though, except for the Ducktales remake. 

Iwata talks some more about A Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD. and honestly, I simply cannot get myself to care about this game. So it looks a bit prettier, big deal. I'd much rather just have a fresh new Zelda, although I know one's in the works. All Nintendo needs to do to get me sold on this remake in include the dungeons they cut out from the original. It comes out in October. 

Finally, he shows more of The Wonderful 101.  God, this game's taking forever to release. Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen gameplay for this game, but it does remind me of an action-heavy Pikmin. There seems to be a lot of powers you can buy, and big enemies you can fight. This game needs to hurry up and come out. September 15th is a long ways off. He also mentions an upcoming Nintendo Direct will be dedicated to the game.

Next, Iwata makes a new announcement.  He shows a video which turns out be a new Donkey Kong Country. It looks fun and beautiful, with new scenery and gameplay, camera angles and the like.  I wouldn't mind playing this, as I loved Donkey Kong Returns. Dixie Kong also returns. It's called Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeeze, coming out in November.

Now, Iwata shows another trailer for Bayonetta 2.  They got rid of her beautiful long hair, which I don't care for.  They show off some gameplay footage, but it was a very short tease. AND IT'S PUSHED BACK TO 2014!  You kidding me?! That's disappointing. 

Next up is a trailer for the new Monolith game, which is obviously Xenoblade Chronicles 2.  It looks very pretty. It comes out sometime next year. It closes with new footage of Super Smash Bros, featuring a lot of new things from all sorts of franchises including Animal Crossing's Villager. Surprise, surprise, it's next year. Hah, Mega Man is now part of the roster, and oh man, his theme music's got me excited!  I think I'm going to have to get this game now.

Overall thoughts:

It's hard to judge this one, as it's not a standard Nintendo conference. It feels weird not seeing the likes of Reggie Fil-Aimes on stage, but I'll just have to settle when what I got.  As for the Direct, there wasn't much announced that I didn't already expect, but it was really exciting to see new gameplay footage of Super Mario 3D World and Mario Kart 8. I'd love to pick up the new Donkey Kong Country as well. The show faltered, though, during the presentation of all the numerous third party games. It just ran through them so quickly. This is a very important Direct for Nintendo, so more is more. Also, more delays such as Bayonetta 2 slipping to 2014 is very disappointing. As much as I'm excited for the major Nintendo players, I'm also disappointed by any real surprises.  So, overall, the direct failed to really impress me.

Rating: C