Friday, June 13, 2014

E3 2014: Post Game Show Recap

Welcome to the day after E3 2014.  The Electronics & Entertainment Exposition has come to a close.  Following last years reveal of the Big Three's consoles, this year looked to be primarily focused on games and which systems you could  not play those games on.  I do not have an exact count (because I'm lazy) of the number of exclusives released for each system (PS4, Vita, XBone, Wii U, 3DS, PC), but as to be expected there were a handful (PS4: The Order: 1886; Vita: Persona 4: Dancing All Night; XBone: Sunset Overdrive; Wii U: Baynetta 2; 3DS: Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney; PC: Civilization: Beyond Earth).  Additionally there are games being released/announced this year that only last year were exclusives (Dead Rising 3).

And what about gaming products and peripherals (I cannot spell "peripherals" without help)?  I was surprised that I did not hear anything about the Oculus Rift or Sony's Project Morpheus.  And only a couple of days ago and not related to E3 did I hear about Valve's VR headset so I expected to at least hear something from/about one of these products looking to springboard us into the VR "future" of gaming.  I actually had to read an article from RollingStone about a comparison between the Oculus and Morpheus.  Even on Gizmodo I was unable to find anything E3 related, which I found a touch odd, but maybe they are boycotting this year??

Back to the games.

In my previous post, I mentioned a few games that interested me from my perspective of PC/3DS gaming along with a couple extras that I will not be able to get my hands on unless I acquire a PS4, Vita, XBone or Wii U, which does not look like it is going to happen anytime soon.  You know what, let us explore this idea a little bit.  Of the games that were revealed as exclusives, what game would convince me to buy that particular system.

Playstation 4: Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.  I love The Chinese Room from their work on Dear Esther and how they helped out with Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.  I imagine that EGtoP will be a lot like both of those games.  A story that is told in FP view that probably will not include any combat, but may have enemies of some sort that you have to avoid.  And it looks absolutely gorgeous.

Vita:  Axiom Verge.  Although Axiom Verge is not a Vita exclusive, it is a Playstation exclusive and there only seemed to be a couple that were exclusive to the Vita.  I only found out about this game a few minutes before typing the paragraph two above this one.  The game looks like a mix between Contra (NES) and Super Metroid (SNES), which is a great combination to have.

XBone: D4 (Dark Dreams Don't Die).  I know that being a male video game player between the ages of 18-35, I should be balls out for Halo 5, Halo: The Masterchief Collection or Sunset Overdrive, but those are just not my bag of tea baby.  I did not like Halo the one time I played it and while Sunset Overdrive looks quirky, I like the idea behind D4 a lot more.  An episodic supernatural murder mystery.  That is just more up my proverbial light rail track (streets are so last year bro).

Wii U: The Legend of Zelda.  While I've stated before my growing disinterest in the Legend of Zelda franchise, but damn is this game pretty!  It will be interesting in the coming months to see what the storyline will be and while I can optimistically that it will not involve Princess Zelda being held captive by Ganon/Ganondorf, I will not be surprised if this is the case.  UNLESS!, this will be a Wii U remake of the original that came out back in 1986, then I might actually have to break down and buy a Wii U on the spot.

3DS:  Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call.  Okay, yes, I already own a 3DS, but if I did not, then this game would probably make me go out and buy the system.  My excitement over this game does have a bit of a hiccup though.  In the first Theatrhythm, there are roughly 60 additional songs that you can buy (at $0.99 a piece) to play in the game.  TFFCC touts a total of 200 playable songs and I really hope that that does not include the songs that Square Enix will be trying to sell me.  I also hope that there is a significant enough difference between the songs from the first game and this sequel, even with the inclusion of Final Fantasy Tactics, Advent Children, FF XIII-2, Lightning Returns and FF XIV: A Realm Reborn.

Lastly, a game that I am extremely excited to see released is Gunman Clive 2, the sequel to the awesome 2d side scrolling western platformer from Hörberg Productions.  Is it bad that being surprised by this games announcement was the most excited I became during all three days of E3 coverage?  I do not say this as a critique of the video game industry, or maybe I am and I just do not know how to articulate myself as well as I would like.  Either way, Steam starts their Summer Sale next Thursday (June 19th), so there is plenty of time to build up my self control and hide my credit card where I know it will not be found.



~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
But Just The Good Days


P.S.  Three additional games, coincidentially all Final Fantasy related that I did not have place for are a 3DS action adventure game akin to the  Monster Hunter series, a mobile game based on the FF VII motorcycle sequence and a f2p mobile game based off of the Japanese released PSP game, Final Fantasy Type-0.

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