#i’m so excited if they make francis more relevant again i will cry tears of joy

[jounosparticles]

i am OVERJOYED we finally have francis back this chapter??? i’m so happy i missed him so much. this protocol will save everybody trust me

[mrgameandwrite]

E3 2017 Summary

By the time you’re reading this, E3 will have come and gone. The drought of game releases of the summer will have given way to the hope of games that are on the holiday horizon. And goddamn if it isn’t a beautiful horizon that we, as gamers, are flying towards. This year’s E3 did not disappoint as there were a myriad of big announcements, huge surprises, and oh so many games. In case you missed it, here are all the highlights of E3 2017.

EA

EA kicked things off with a relatively tame conference, but the crowd reactions did not help. Granted, there were few things that I’m actually excited about from this conference, so I can’t chastise the crowd too hard. Still, E3 has begun!

Announcements

New IP from Bioware called Anthem, a gorgeous sci-fi shooter with power suits.

A co-op prison break game called A Way Out

Need for Speed: Payback, because cars deserve revenge, too.

Battlefield DLC that adds night time maps and Russian expansion.

Madden 18 has a story mode, which I will only play if you can ruin your career through idiotic antics at the club.

Fifa 18 has Ronaldo all over it. Because it’s “fueled by Ronaldo”. Every drop of his sweat makes the game better.

NBA Live 18 will try to be relevant.

Star Wars Battlefront II will look to improve on Star Wars Battlefront, you know, like the OG Star Wars Battlefront II.

Biggest Highlight: Star Wars Battlefront II

Featuring new campaign, multiplayer from all eras with more customization, vehicles, and various improvements to gunplay. Still skeptical as the first one left a bad taste in my mouth, but it’s hard not to be excited about being part of Star Wars battles.

Biggest Surprise: A Way Out

Made by the same people who made Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Interesting idea that the game MUST be played co-op, either through split screen or online. Could be hit or miss, depending on how matchmaking would work. 

Microsoft

Microsoft started by addressing the elephant in the room: Project Scorpio. Now dubbed Xbox One X, this mid-generation upgrade is advertised as the most powerful console ever made that will play games the best. The price tag at $499, which gives players cost-effective options based on preference. Since specs were already released, Microsoft could address what it’s called, what it costs, when it will be out (November 7), then dive into games. They announced that the OG Xbox games will soon be backwards compatible on Xbox One, while some Xbox One games can be enhanced with the X’s new tech. After that, they dove into a shit ton of game trailers, so it would just be easier to borrow this list from Kotaku, which also notes their exclusivity:

Anthem (Non-exclusive)

The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti (Console launch exclusive)

Ashen (Console launch exclusive)

Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Non-exclusive)

Black Desert (Console launch exclusive)

Code Vein (Non-exclusive)

Crackdown 3 (Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive)

Cuphead (Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive)

The Darwin Experiment (Console launch exclusive)

Deep Rock Galactic (Console launch exclusive)

Dragon Ball Fighter Z (Non-exclusive)

Forza Motorsport 7 (Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive)

The Last Night (Console launch exclusive)

Life Is Strange (Non-exclusive)

Metro Exodus (Non-exclusive)

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War (Non-exclusive)

Minecraft (Non-exclusive)

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive)

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (Console launch exclusive)

Sea of Thieves (Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive)

State of Decay 2 (Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive)

Super Lucky’s Tale (Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive)

Tacoma (Console exclusive)

Biggest Highlight: Xbox One X

Despite a really bad name (especially considering another console in the Xbox family is called S, surely leading to some upset children come Christmas time), Xbox’s top-of-the-line console came in with a reasonable price point considering all the tech that’s going into it. They got the important info out of the way and turned their focus to the games, which will no doubt benefit from the beefed-up console.

Biggest Surprise: Sea of Thieves

Out of all the games on that expansive list, Sea of Thieves seems like the most promising to me. This open-world pirate game from Rare looks like it’ll require a lot of cooperation in order to do effectively, but will be fun even when everything goes horribly wrong. Hunting for treasure on the seven seas hasn’t looked this fun in a long time.

Bethesda

Welcome to BethesdaLand! If not for that odd theme park ode to themselves, Bethesda’s event probably would take home the award for most predictable conference. That’s not always a bad thing though, as some big things got announced.

Announcements

Fallout 4 will be getting the virtual reality treatment this fall, with Doom to follow sometime down the line.

Creation Club brings paid mods to Bethesda games. Boooo

Amiibos will allow you to dress as Link in the Nintendo Switch version of Skyrim, at least until you find some more powerful armor

Dishonored 2 is getting a standalone DLC called Death of the Outsider.

The Evil Within 2 is coming out on Friday, October 13th. Creepy things on creepy days.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus completely ignores the ending of its predecessor, The New Order, looks amazing enough that no one seems to care

Biggest Highlight: Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Who doesn’t love killing Nazis in a future where their power reigns supreme? Especially when it looks that gorgeous and the combat looks so fluid and brutal. Admittedly, I haven’t actually tried the Wolfenstein franchise, but this looks good enough to quickly change my mind. Because again, Nazi-killin’ and alternative timelines.

Biggest Surprise: Fallout 4 VR might actually make Fallout 4 interesting to dive back into.

It still may be a weak story, but if they can bring it’s gunplay to a VR setting, I’m sold.

Ubisoft

BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL 2 IS REAL, GUYS! I’M NOT CRYING, YOU’RE CRYING!

Announcements

BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL 2 IS A REAL THING MADE BY REAL PEOPLE WITH REAL FEELS

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a goofy combo to have such a strategy-based focused, but I’m intrigued. Despite all the leaks about this game before E3, no one saw that coming.

The Crew 2, aka, The Crew 2: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Transference is a cryptic, creepy VR experience that I will never, ever play, no matter how excited Elijah Wood is about it.

Skull & Bones is a game based on the naval combat of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, except without assassins, or creeds (though I assume there will still be black flags a-plenty).

South Park gets double treatment, in the forms of a new mobile game called South Park Phone Destroyer and a new trailer for the RPG South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Starlink: Battle of Atlas looks like No Man’s Sky meets Skylanders, just in the sense that it’s a space game with real-life toys to scan in.

Far Cry 5 showcased Boomer, aka, Fang for Hire, WHO HAD BETTER NOT FUCKING DIE, I SWEAR.

Biggest Highlight: Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

Ok, so since I won’t allow myself to put Beyond Good and Evil 2 in both this and the biggest surprise section, Mario gets the treatment here for a few reasons. First, the game actually looks really good, even with those silly Rabbids. It’s a game a-la XCOM with turn-based, strategic combat and exploration. Plus, it gave beloved Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto a chance to perform for the live crowd since Nintendo switched to pre-recorded showings at E3.

Biggest Surprise: Beyond Good and Evil 2

Arguably the biggest surprise of the whole damn show, Beyond Good and Evil has been rumored to be in development over the last 15 years. After the cyberpunk cinematic spectacle that was the trailer, designer Michel Ancel came out with a tear in his eye to a standing ovation as he got to show the fruit of over a decade’s labor. Who knows when this game will actually come out, but amongst all the suited presenters, it was fantastic to see some real emotion from someone who has poured almsot two decades into his passion.

Sony

Unlike Microsoft, Sony didn’t have a new console to unveil, so the focus of their conference was on the games. And goddamn, Sony had a lot of games to announce. Let’s dive right in.

Announcements

Uncharted: Lost Legacy looks like an Uncharted game alright. There’s plenty of guns pointed at people menacingly and people falling over cliffs and/or collapsing buildings. Still, I’m pretty excited to explore India with Claudia and Nadine.

Horizon: Zero Dawn is getting an expansion, which I’m sure I’ll be very into once I actually start playing Horizon: Zero Dawn (I’m holding out for a PS4 Pro and 4K TV to get the best experience possible, cause I’ve heard it’s pretty good).

Days Gone may be coming in towards the end of the zombie craze, but at least it’s doing some interesting things mechanically that should shake things up with that tired genre.

Monster Hunter World is the first time the franchise is coming to non-Nintendo consoles, which could be neat. Maybe through a more proven online infrastructure, more of my friends will actually join in.

Call of Duty: World War II is, well, Call of Duty. It’s cool that they’re going back to World War II, but that’s about it.

Shadow of the Colossus isn’t just getting an HD facelift, but the whole remake treatment. We already know it’s a fantastic game, but now it’s gonna have the looks to match. Let’s just hope the camera isn’t like The Last Guardian...

Quite a few VR games coming to PSVR, including Skyrim (holy shit!), a shooter called Bravo Team, a pretty game called Star Child, a thriller I won’t play called The Inpatient, a Final Fantasy XV fishing game called Monster of the Deep (da fuck?), and an actual interesting game called Moss, which puts you in control of a little mouse with a sword. If I ever get into PSVR, it’ll be for Skyrim and Moss.

God of War will attempt to tackle all of your daddy issues as Kratos and son are on some kind of quest through Norse mythology. It’s interesting to see a character like Kratos slow down from all the over-the-top bloodletting and take on the role of a concerned parent. I’m super excited for the shift in tone.

The people who made Until Dawn are making a mobile game called Hidden Agenda, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Undertale, one of the biggest indie darlings of 2015, is coming to PS4 and Vita, which I’m super stoked about.

Marvel vs Capcom Infinite was one of the few games to do the whole “you can play some of it right now!” treatment with a story demo. Looks a little odd, to be honest. I’m into the whole multiverse idea in general, but it usually makes for a weak way to connect fighting game characters.

Destiny 2 is continuing the trend of timed exclusive content for PS4, which continues to conflict me about which system to buy it on, even though I’ll probably eventually buy both PS4 and Xbox versions like I did before because I have a Destiny problem.

Spider-Man closed down Sony’s conference with a bang. Sure, there are a lot of quick-time events, but Spider-Man looks poised to become the new Batman. I’m hoping that what was shown was just that linear because it was a mission and that the game will have more of an open world, but even if not, this game looks very fun.

Biggest Highlight: Spider-Man

Man, this game looked good. Kingpin is a good choice for a villain, but I’m excited to see how these seemingly unknown characters are utilized. Also, nice little Miles Morales cameo at the end just when everyone thought it was wrapped up. It may not come out until 2018, but this has potential to usurp the Batman series as best superhero game.

Biggest Surprise: Shadow of the Colossus

Probably at third place for biggest surprise of E3, I don’t think anyone predicted that Shadow of the Colossus was going to get the remake treatment so soon, especially after the recent release of The Last Guardian. Not complaining, though.

Nintendo

Nintendo always goes to the beat of their own drum when it comes to E3 conferences. This year, the pre-recorded presentation lasted around half an hour.  However, they went for quality over quantity, and they may have already won E3 2018 with a couple huge announcements.

Announcements:

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was one of the few JRPG’s shown at E3 this year, complete with cheesy dialogue. I always want to break into this series, but whenever I hear this kind of dialogue, I cringe.

Kirby is making his first appearance to a home console in a very long time in 2018. Hope it doesn’t....SUCK. I couldn’t help myself.

For the first time ever, the core series of Pokemon games is making its way to a home console with the Switch. We don’t know if it’ll be a brand new series or if it’ll be the long-rumored Pokemon Stars, but I scared the shit out of my girlfriend when this announcement hit. I’m still scaring her.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT, METROID PRIME 4 IS IN DEVELOPMENT. That’s all I needed to know. Nintendo is giving the people what they want. What is this world we live in? There’s also a side-scroller Metroid coming out called Metroid: Samus Returns for 3DS, BUT METROID PRIME 4, Y’ALL!

Yoshi looks wooly again and is getting a Switch game in 2018.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild outlined two pieces of DLC. The first, which is coming out on June 30th, is called The Master of Trials, which looks like a complex gauntlet of endurance and strategy. The second DLC, slated for holiday release, is called The Champions Ballad, and is coming with its own set of Amiibo, which I will probably have to get, goddamn it.

Rocket League is coming to Switch with Mario-themed extras and, most importantly, will feature cross network play. Maybe seeing how Nintendo handles it will convince Sony to try it, and then we’ll get to the beginning of the end of the console wars.

Fire Emblem Warriors is going to be a Dynasty Warriors clone with Fire Emblem paint, if you’re into that kinda thing.

And for the grand finale, Nintendo showed off a lot more of Super Mario Odyssey, including the fact that Mario, with his magic hat Cappy, has the ability to possess and become enemies, NPCs, and fucking dinosaurs. It looks quirky and cute and could be the runner-up for GOTY (Breath of the Wild has that on lock). It also is coming out October 27th.

Biggest Highlight: Super Mario Odyssey

For a short conference, Nintendo focused the back half of it on Mario, and for good reason. Post Breath of the Wild, my Switch has been itching for this game and it’s charming mechanics. On top of possessing enemies, Mario’s hat can also possess things like electric wires to travel from building to building. It’s the centerpiece for this game’s mechanics and I couldn’t be more excited to throw my hat at every fucking thing.

Biggest Surprise: Metroid Prime 4

Now, if this category were giddiest reaction by me, it would be Pokemon on Switch, but with all the leaked info on Game Freak’s specific job posting, the biggest surprise is Metroid Prime 4 actually being worked on. We’ve been clamoring for a new Metroid game and it seems like Nintendo believes the Switch is the system that’s ready to handle it. We probably won’t see anything more concrete on it for another year or so, but knowing that it’s in development should have people salivating until then.

Best Game of Show: Super Mario Odyssey

Despite some exciting trailers for long lost sequels and excellent gameplay demos, Nintendo takes the cake in 2017 with Super Mario Odyssey. After only seeing a small teaser when the Nintendo Switch was first announced, Nintendo delivered what eager fans have been waiting for with the Switch’s newest blockbuster. Nintendo focused in on Mario’s magic cap through most of the E3 presentation, making fans salivate at all the goofy ways to explore and solve New Donk City and beyond. Complete with a release date of October 27th (originally slated as Holiday 2017), fans won’t have to wait nearly as long as most of the exciting things that were revealed in this E3.