Thoughts on E3 2013

So E3 has come and gone. Like previous E3 we saw lots of gems come from it.

Saw the trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins and it looks nice. Once again, I'm looking forward to it but I'm still nervous since Rocksteady Studios isn't involved. I knew Mark Hamill retired from the Joker after Arkham City but I'm a little sad Kevin Conroy is not coming back as Batman. I wish one day we could get Michael Keaton to voice Batman for a video game. Still it looks fun and it's set to be released on my 29th birthday (October 25th).

Square made me happy. I knew Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII was scheduled. But I wasn't sure the next Final Fantasy game would officially be Final Fantasy XV. Saw the trailer and the graphics look great. I hope the gameplay is different from XIII since I would prefer to play with my entire party instead of one person while the computer controls the others. I also hope the whole "if the character you control dies, the game's over" bullshit is gone with this game. If I want that then I'll play Final Fantasy VI and let Ultros kick Banon's ass. Unfortunately both games aren't set to be released until 2014 but it gives me time to play XIII-2. Finally, we got our first look at Kingdom Hearts III. This one surprised me as I didn't expect it but I'm happy and excited. KH is an awesome franchise and I recommend it to anybody who considers themselves a gamer. It's in production but hopefully we'll see more next year. At least it gives me time to play re:coded for DS and get a 3DS so I can play 3D: Dream Drop Distance.

Saw the trailer for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 and I'm looking forward to it. I enjoyed Lords of Shadow and thought it was a great game for the series. I wouldn't mind seeing more Castlevania games with the same engine as LOS. The classic platform style and Metroidvania style are great but it's 2013 and it's time for something new. I'm glad that the game is set to be released in the winter of this year. Just in time for Christmas. It's scheduled for PS3 and XB360.

Sega showed Sonic Lost World and I liked the trailer. The gameplay reminded me of Sonic Generations which is a very good thing. The graphics and the colors were gorgeous. Another game to look forward to for the Holiday season. It's set for Wii U and 3DS.

We saw first glimpses of the Xbox One and Playstation 4. Like most new systems, we have to wait a year before we get a lot of the good stuff. On the plus side, there's plenty for people to look forward to. Both get the new Wolfenstein game: Wolfenstein: The New Order this year. Sony will release the next Killzone game this year for PS4 while Microsoft and Rare will release a new Killer Instinct this year for XB1 and new Halo at some point. XB1 will also get Dead Rising 3 exclusively and possibly this year. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Halo or Killzone but if you like them then you got something to look forward.

Another game that interest me is a game called Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. The game's main character is Yaiba Kamikaze who was killed by Ninja Gaiden hero: Ryu Hayabusa and now is out on quest to kill Ryu. Being a pretty big Ninja Gaiden fan, I'm really curious and interested in playing this game which is scheduled for a Q1 2014 release. It'll be released on PS3 and XB360.

We have Nintendo's goodies. The new Super Mario 3D World looks excellent. I also like how Toad and Princess Peach are playable which reminds me of Super Mario Bros 2. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker was a very fun game on Gamecube so I will be interested in playing in on the Wii U in HD. Like Kingdom Hearts III, I had no idea we would see the next Donkey Kong Country game: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Paradise. In fact, I didn't know it was being made. This game is a true sequel as it takes what DKC Returns did and adds more with water levels and the return of Dixie Kong as well as an unnamed fourth player (I'm personally hoping for Kiddy Kong). We also got Pikmin 3. I never played the Pikmin games but 3 looks good. The downloadable content: New Super Luigi U will be released in as a game (the game is similar to New Super Mario Bros. U only Mario is not playable and some other new features). All these games should be out for Wii U between July and December. Also this year we got the Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds which is the long and I mean LONG awaited sequel to A Link To The Past. We also got Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. I'm a fan of the Mario & Luigi series so it should be great. Both games will be for the 3DS and both this year. We saw some exciting games for 2014 including Mario Kart 8, the Super Smash Bros., and the next Xeno game: X. I'm excited to see Mega Man finally make his debut for Super Smash Bros.

My early opinion on the Playstation 4 is that I think they have a good opportunity to have a very good generation but I don't see Sony having the same success it had with the first two Playstations where they're breaking records. The same problems that haunted the PS3 are back with the PS4. According to wikipedia, Sony will sell the PS4 at US$399. While this is lower from the US$499-US$599 that PS3 originally sold for, it's still a lot to sell a system for nearly 400 dollars and then have people spend another 50-60 dollars on a game. Another problem is the exclusive third party support that Playstation and Playstation 2 enjoyed is long gone. It's already been announced that Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts III, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and The Elder Scrolls Online will also be available for Xbox One.

As for Xbox One it's not good. Like Playstation 4, they don't have a lot of exclusive third party support as most of the third party games will be available on PS4. The game will have no backwards compatibility which sucks since I and many others would've loved to play 360 games on a console that didn't suffer from red rings of death (That's assuming XB1 won't have the same problem). The fact the system needs to be online all the time won't help since not every gamer has top of the line connections. Finally, according to wikipedia, Microsoft is selling the XB1 for US$499. I can't believe Microsoft is expecting people to pay nearly $500 for it especially when the premium Xbox 360 package sold for US$399.