THE BEST AND WORST OF E3

If you follow me on either Twitter or Instagram, which if you’re not, you should be, you have noticed my increased postings about the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, as most know it by. If you’re not familiar with E3, E3 is an event that invites people from different gaming industries to present their newest games, and or, gaming technology. But as far as this year’s event goes, there were some great announcements and there were some bad announcements. Let’s take a look at the Best and Worst of E3.

THE BEST

VIRTUAL REALITY

VR really made a huge impact at this year’s event. Almost every system, more so Samsung and Sony, announced that they would be coming out with a plethora of VR content in the coming months. PlayStation really led the pack on this subject by stating that the current PlayStation consoles have the hardware to play such content. Though come October, Sony’s VR headset will cost you a pretty penny, I’m looking forward to playing games like Batman Arkham and Resident Evil VII in virtual reality.

XBOX One and Windows 10 Cross-Platform (Play Anywhere)

I’m very excited about this. This subject has been a slow rollout for Microsoft, but now it’s finally coming to fruition. Games will now be able to be played on both your XBOX One and your Windows 10 computer. You’’ll even be able to play a game on your XBOX One and pick up where you left off on your PC. With a brother-in-law who is, strictly speaking, a PC player, I hope to enjoy more game time with him. I don’t understand the dismay that some fans have with a move like this from Microsoft. Being able to play games on both platforms are a positive, in my opinion.

We Happy Few

If there’s one thing that really lights my fire creatively, it’s a storyline with a type of dystopian world. The trailer for We Happy Few introduces us to a world set in 60s England, where people are forced to be happy. Those who aren’t happy are most likely off their “happy pills”. But when the character you are playing as refuses to confirm to these norms, chaos erupts, marking you as a fugitive. This is an independent game from the company Compulsion Games. We Happy Few offers a BioShock type feel, thus, increasing my overwhelming need to own this game.

PlayStation Press Conference

Although MY first gaming console was a PlayStation 2, I have always considered myself an XBOX fan. But in the past year, I finally bought myself a PlayStation 4, because XBOX continues to let me down. I still do love my XBOX One, but boy, am I glad I have a PlayStation 4. Sony’s PlayStation Press Conference blew every other company out of the water. XBOX could not even compare to what PlayStation had to offer. In my opinion, PlayStation didn’t really make promises, but rather said, “here is this product, it will be out for you to buy in a few months”. Sony delivered on every aspect of their press conference. From games to technology, Sony didn’t hold back in letting everyone know that they are the supreme company at E3.

THE WORST

Death Stranding

What? How dare I? The new Norman Reedus fueled trailer barely did anything for me. From the mind of Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid), this game explained very little, but you gather that it’s a dystopian storyline. At first, I thought the game was called Death Standing. Then I found out it was Death Stranding. Standing…Stranding. Neither title really does much to describe what’s going on here. Dead baby? Dead fish? Death. Death. Death. That’s all I noticed. For those of you wondering when this game will hit the shelves, well, Kojima has said sometime in late 2017 or early 2018. Until that time, I’ll remain on the fence about this strange game.

XBOX Slim vs Project Scorpio

Microsoft was on a roll when they decided to announce the XBOX Slim, coming to retailers in August. However, as the crowd of XBOX fans began to pre-order their slim consoles, they were presented with the news that 2017 would bring about an ultimate console only to be known as “Project Scorpio”. Cancel order. Cancel order. Cancel order. A big mistake on Microsoft’s part. Why buy this slim XBOX, when there will be a “game changing” new XBOX right around the corner. Instead of buying this, why not buy PlayStation’s virtual reality headset set for an October release.

Besides the Microsoft cross-platform idea, basically every idea that XBOX presented.

At E3 2014, XBOX announced, at the time, the XBOX One would not be able to let gamers share games with their friends. This meant that stores such as GameStop would fail to continue selling pre-owned games, and gamers could not take their personal copy to a friend’s house and play it on that XBOX One. Microsoft tried to spin it in a positive way, but this caused the consumer to ignite in anger and force Microsoft to change their tone. I believe that Microsoft has tried to make it up to us ever since. However, time after time Microsoft tries to spin shit into gold. They try to be revolutionary in their presentations, but in the end, they come in second best.

Nintendo

Oh, Nintendo. You were the console of our childhoods. But now, you barely interest us. Nintendo’s press conference was not on June 13^th like every other popular gaming studio. No, Nintendo is the annoying kid that wants to perform at a talent show, so instead of people saying no, they amuse this kid even though his talent is nonexistent. Is that too harsh a description? Okay, so Nintendo is not that bad, but they were far from great. Though Zelda: Breath of the Wild looked decent, that’s all they had going for them. No new Mario game. And when Nintendo’s competition is focusing on VR, or High Dynamic Range to support 4K gameplay, Nintendo stays behind in the shadows releasing the same games they’ve shelled out year after year. Nintendo often releases beautiful games, which is what you’ll receive in the new Zelda, but is that only to disguise the truth about their own limits?

Honorable Mentions

I can’t mention every game or product that got my mind racing. But the trailers and gameplay for games like Dead Rising 4 (FRANK IS BACK!!!), Days Gone (which looked terrifying), Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (yes, I’m excited about a Call of Duty game), and Ubisoft’s For Honor (which looks EPIC), all made my heart race. I’m incredibly excited at what the video game industry has planned in the near future.