Since it is E3 season again, we at Flipgeeks decided to do a quick sitdown discussion of all the reveals that went on at the said event. Being the hardcore gamers that we are, we passed on our judgment at the best games of this year’s expo, as well as other stuff. This will be a long one, so sit back, grab a popcorn, and enjoy!
**********
YURI: Hi everyone to our roundup for E3 2014! Since we here at Flipgeeks love playing games, we’ll be talking about the best and what not of the epicness that is E3. And boy, there were a lot of games!
RYAN: Yes, as in a LOT. I just finished going through all of the games and it took me about an hour just to finish most of the games and there were still may be a few that I’ve missed. All of them though regardless of which platform you’re into, you might have seen a game or two that caught your attention. These games are all eye-candy.
YURI: Indeed. If last year’s E3 is a contest between consoles, this year’s iteration veers from that and focuses on games, and it’s a win-win for all of us, right?
RYAN: Definitely! No one lost in this year’s E3, but once these games get out, we’d be losing our wallets. That’s for sure! Hahaha!
YURI: Our dear pockets are now clinging to their lives. Haha! So, having said that, let’s start off with the big three’s media events from Day 1 and 2! Microsoft opened E3 with their press event, and many have placed doubts since the Kinect and the Xbox One did not perform strongly in the market.
RYAN: True. I guess even prior to the release of Xbox One there were already a couple of issues surrounding the console which could have possibly affected its performance in the market.
YURI: Yes. Personally, I initially disliked what they did with the Xbox One, but seeing their presentation last Monday, I was convinced to get one. And oh, no mention whatsoever of the Kinect this year!
RYAN: That made me wonder too why there were no announcements about the Kinect. If they plan on selling more units E3 would have been the perfect venue. Probably Microsoft would be banking on their games to boost their sales since most of the units are already bundled with the Kinect. It wouldn’t be a bad add-on anyways. Let’s see what Microsoft does in the coming months.
YURI: Seconded. Whether the Kinect will be abandoned or otherwise is left to be seen. Moving forward, Microsoft came all guns blazing with a slew of games, such as Call of Duty, Fable Legends, Halo, Assassin’s Creed and the like. Gameplay demos were emphasized this time around, plus the revelation of additional content for all Xbox One versions.
RYAN: Assassin’s Creed Unity. It just blew me away. I really loved how the franchise has grown and now it’s set during the French Revolution. It’s like playing through Les Miserables. Hahaha. Kidding aside, I love the new gameplay mechanics of Unity as what was shown during the single player/ gameplay trailer. It’s not as repetitive as the previous games which is a nice development. I liked that they just simply upgraded or modified what was already working for them in the first play which is really a good development. I’d wait until the game comes out and if it’s as good as the trailer then consider me sold!
YURI: I agree. The 4-player coop is a welcome addition, and I also liked the fact that many things were happening all at once in the background, whilst progressing on your mission. There is a sense of scale and claustrophobia this time. It’s pretty rad. I think Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s also neat, the visuals were great, and the frame rate is much snappier now. I just felt awkward with the drones. They looked like those Squids from The Matrix.
RYAN: So that’s what I missed! I knew it. Too bad I wasn’t able to catch that trailer. From what you’re saying I believe that this would have been an improvement from the last game, i mean adding elements like those Squids from The Matrix you couldnt go wrong with that. I’d include that on my to do list after “Must Watch Call of Duty E3 trailer”. Haha!
YURI: Hahaha! Also, I’m looking forward for Rise of The Tomb Raider, as well as Halo 5. Those two were looking sick.
RYAN: True! Yeah. Tomb Raider. Lara Croft. ‘Nuff said.
YURI: Right. The Mass Effect reveal did not fare well though as much as the Star Wars Battlefront teaser. Am I the only one who feels that this should end with Shephard’s story?
RYAN: I don’t know what to say on this one. Sorry, but I was never into Mass Effect. I know probably a lot of people would ask WHY? but that is a topic for another day. I know a game though that we could both talk lots about. 3 words:
Batman: Arkham Knight. Right?!
YURI: Hell yes! Batman stole everyone’s thunder at Day 1! It was the trailer everyone waited for as per my observation. The Batmobile gameplay was pretty solid. Also, there were refinements with the visuals, which is why I totally understand their decision to push it next year. I guess they were trying to maximize the potential of the high-end consoles as much as they could.
Scarecrow’s dead creepy too.
RYAN: Noticed the detail they’ve given to Gotham City? Gotham’s huge and the attention they’ve given to every building & street lights plus traffic! Since you got the Batmobile now it’s only obvious that there’d be traffic too. Agreed. The character design for Scarecrow was flawless. He’s really someone that would haunt you in your sleep even more when you’re awake.
YURI: And I also appreciate their choice of using him for Arkham’s finale. Batman is a force of fear. What better way to cap things off with someone who knows how to play with fear as well, right?
RYAN: Yes. We all know how it would probably end but seeing what or how it happens makes it more enjoyable!
Not to take anything away from Microsoft but in my opinion the Playstation stole this year’s E3. We all know about the console wars but regardless who comes out on top it’s the gamers who wins in the end, wouldnt you agree?
YURI: Indeed. If Microsoft heated things up with rad demos of their own, Sony sure fired back with the reveals for Far Cry 4, Dead Island 2 and Uncharted 4.
Infamous: First Light and Order 1886 were neat too. I liked how they managed to utilized PS4’s HD capabilities on the latter. It was pretty smooth, and the cutscenes are entwined with the gameplay too.
RYAN: Order 1886 was one of my favorite games from E3. It has that cinematic feel plus the story that just captured my attention. Liked you said, it’s full HD so you’d barely know the difference between what a cutscene is from the actual gameplay.
YURI: Yes. Let’s not forget Destiny. They’re building it as their answer to Halo. The scale is big, and if you’re a digger for sci-fi and space opera stories, you’ll like how they treated the game.
RYAN: Agreed. Destiny was actually one of the last games I saw so it’s still fresh in memory. I liked that its not your traditional shooter game, they incorporated powers! (well,at least thats what the trailer shows) It reminds me of Lost Planet games though, the game being set in another planet, Mars, plus space suits, mechs, but still Destiny is a different game. Destiny could be inspired by Halo and/or Lost Planet, who knows, it could even be better than both games combined!
That’s what’s good and bad about trailers, they hype you up but in the end you need to reserve your judgement until the actual game comes out.
YURI: I agree, my friend. I got four words which you’ll definitely like: Metal Gear Solid V. A lot of things happened in the trailer. It’s pretty melancholic, and Big Boss sure looks pretty messed up.
RYAN: Right. Phantom Pain. Whew. That’s one, heavy trailer. If there’s any drama to E3, it’s Metal Gear Solid V. You can just see the pain in Punished Snake throughout the trailer. You know that the game is already action packed and just seeing Snake in despair is on a different level, especially when he put the ashes on his face (whose ashes is it anyways?) that just says whoever did this you’d be in for a lot of pain. A different but effective approach to long successful franchise.
RYAN: Have you seen the survival horror games, Let it Die and Evil Within? Man, I’m lost for words on those games. Those games looked really bad (in a good way) with all the blood, the killing and gore but it’s so good that you’d play through it even if it haunts you in your dreams. Hahaha!
YURI: Hahaha! Suda51 is definitely back. Let It Die’s trailer is pretty brutal, and in a way, it very much parodies the way we look at violent games, healthbars and weapons.
Speaking of gore, Bloodborne’s pretty bloody.
RYAN: After watching all the trailers for those games, I agree with YouTube’s censorship for mature content. Young gamers should be guided when playing those games and if at all possible, those games should be out of their reach until they’re of legal age. The trailer alone is already brutal, I can only imagine the gameplay itself.
Another game we should include in this list: Mortal Kombat 10. I’ve played Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition and this version is more than 10 games better. Trailer alone speaks for itself.
YURI: I have to say: It’s more than just brutality and gore. It’s much technical now, and I liked their new approach with critical strikes and fatalities. It’s very reminiscent of DoA 5.
Let’s steer away from brutality, shall we and focus on cuteness. Like Little Big Planet 3. Hahaha!
RYAN: Hahaha. Never played Little Big Planet before but I agree, the trailer is surely screaming CUTENESS all throughout. Since we’re moving on to things that are cute and fluffy with all those candy springkles in between, what can you say about Nintendo?
YURI: Nintendo’s press event was the shortest of all three, and it was sweet, albeit not as strong as the first two. My takeaways from their reveals are The Legend of Zelda(hurray with full HD and open world gameplay), Xenoblade Chronicles X(which looks massive than ever), and Super Smash Bros. How about your say?
RYAN: Right on the dot. Not a big Nintendo Gamer myself but I agree with your choices. Those three games were probably Nintendo’s best this E3. The open world gameplay to Legend of Zelda was a huge step for the franchise and E3 of course wouldn’t be complete without Mario right?
YURI: Indeed. Now, let’s wrap things up with our takeaways from E3 2014. What are your top 5 games for this year’s E3?
RYAN: Hmm. That’s a tough one. My TOP 5 games for this years E3 (based on the trailers alone) which I’d most likely buy/play are:
Order 1886, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Batman: Arkham Knight, Mortal Kombat 10, Evil Within.
YURI: Alright, here’s mine: Order 1886, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Rainbow Six Siege, Batman: Arkham Knight, and The Legend of Zelda. Whew, tough one, haha! So that ends our roundup for E3. Any last words before we close it up?
RYAN: Start saving up. That’s all for me. Hahaha!
YURI: Hahaha! Likewise. Save up, fellow geeks. 2014 is a great year for games, and expect us at Flipgeeks to provide you gaming goodness along the way.
************
And we meant that. Stay tuned to Flipgeeks for more gaming goodness as E3 2014 draws to a close tomorrow!
