E3 2015 Roundup

Smiles all around...

Since it's evident to all you lovely lot that I haven't posted anything gaming related in a while, what better way to talk about gaming related stuff again then to talk about this years E3 event which arguably for some gamers, is possibly the best Electronic Entertainment Expo since it introduced games that looked agonisingly cool, features to consoles that people have been wanting and things for the near future that could either revolutionise the gaming industry or miserably flop along with the other failures like the Kinect and PS Move. As for me, there were a few interesting things that caught my eye over the many press conferences that were held which in this very Blog Post, I'll be discussing and giving my thoughts on each of the things that I enjoyed seeing. Just to preference this Blog before I get down to the main talking points, most of what I'll be talking about will be from what Sony introduced in their conference. In no way shape or form that I dislike the other conferences, I just think that in all honesty, Sony hands-down won the whole event with what they introduced and how in general now, they're finally getting this continuity. As for conferences like Microsoft, they were in my opinion quite predictable in what they were going to show. Even when they showed off their title exclusives like the new Halo and the new Gears of War, all I could say to that was simply 'meh'. The only thing that I thought was interesting from Microsoft is the backwards compatibility which is where the meat of the talk begins.

Xbox One - Backwards Compatibility 

While it isn't something that is groundbreaking an amazing to the common casual gamer, to a lot of Xbox players, in some ways it is a big deal. Microsoft during their press conference announced that there will be FINALLY backwards compatibility for the Xbox One. For those people who are saying to themselves 'well, what does that mean'. Essentially what this all means is that now, you can play your old Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One. While I do think that this will benefit Microsoft in the long run in terms of how people will still now buy both Xbox 360 and Xbox One games and it will in some ways benefit professional gamers in that they don't have to bring along two separate consoles to say like a tournament, there is something that kept buzzing in my mind is that, couldn't of they done this in the first place when the Xbox One was being released last year? I'm just saying, for me, this gimmick I think must of been placed in this new console since it's released so it begs the answer that this backwards compatibility at first, musn't of worked and kept this whole thing quiet until it worked properly. It's certainly a mixed opinion from me, but It can't be denied, it will benefit Microsoft in terms if monetisation and profits they earn.

Cuphead

As expected from the Microsoft corner, it was predictable and boring to say the least how they were going to show off title exclusives like Halo 5, the new Tomb Raider and off course the new Gears of War which is tiresome to even mention as I thought that whole series was dead and buried. But despite all of Microsoft's raz-matazz, the one game that arguably takes the claim as being 'Game of the show' is Cuphead. Now rightfully so you might be again thinking, 'what on earth is Cuphead?!' Don't worry, at first I felt the same way. But, if you're fans of classic 2D platformers like Contra or Mega-Man and have a distinct fondness of well drawn animation and appreciate specifically the animation style of the 1930'/50's, then Cuphead will probably be up their as one of the coolest-looking games you've ever witnessed. Just like Ori and the Blind Forest, Microsoft has pulled out an indie wildcard out of their hat, and delivered a interesting classic styled game. To briefly talk about the synopsis, Cuphead is a game about two friends, Cuphead and Mug-Man, that decide to gamble with the devil. They lose of course and in a bid to save their souls, they agree to do his bidding which in turn means shooting the ever loving s*** out of a series of different boss cartoon characters that all seem to pay an homage to the classic cartoons from the 1930's. Everything from the animation to the announcer and sound design is straight out of a time capsule that's been buried for 80 years. What doesn't seem old and rusty however is how it looks to play. Looking at the trailer for the game, it does seem like something that is associated with something like Mega-Man in how you scroll across the 2D plain and eventually have to fight some sought of boss. Lots of games were shown at E3 this year, and lots of those games are set to promise big things. But besides those big titles, I think it's nice to see something like Cuphead, a game that came out of the blue, that wowed a lot of people. For sure, this is a game that you must keep an eye on as it was undoubtedly, one of the best looking games that I've seen at E3 and in a long while.

Unravel

Now moving from one quirky game to another, we have the game Unravel which for my money, is simply what appears to be a combination and mixture between Little Big Planet and Limbo. Now it has to be stated firstly that, if you were one of those lucky few that did see the presentation for this uniquely looking game, then you know I have to talk about the way it was presented first. This may come as a little bit of a shock to some people for those who did in fact watch the Unravel Presentation, but I actually thought the way Martin Sahlin stood up to the crowd and talked about his game to the masses was probably one of nest presentations at E3 that I've watched. Sure he was a person that outright was shaking all over and sounded really nervous being on that stage for the first time in his life which lead to people taking the mickey and feeling sorry for him. But, the actually presentation that he did was really put together artistically. The way he talked about his inspirations and his arty ideas behind making this game with 14 other people is something that I liked seeing and it isn't something you normally see with every game release. To be honest, other game-makers should take note of this. Enough drivel on the actual presentation, the game, Unravel, is a puzzle-platformer where you play as a little character made up of yarn that UNRAVELS as you move. Similar to what Cuphead has, Unravel is a game that looks to have it's own unique art style in terms of the locations that is used and sought of blends two games together so for instance while it kind of looks to have this element of being like Little Big Planet in how you create things to scroll across the 2D screen, it also looks to embrace elements from a game like Limbo where you have to explore and figure out puzzles to get to the next place. However the little gimmick that I saw within the gameplay trailer was how the game looks to occasionally break the 4th wall in that while it is a 2D side-scroller, it sometimes has elements where 3D interactions come to play so the player can interact with animals or with something else. Like Cuphead, Unravel is arguably one of the best games at this years E3 due to the fact that it has a lot of passion from it's creators and looks to be a fun, good-looking game considering that only 14 people worked on it which is impressive in my eyes.

                                           The Presentation and Gameplay...

The Last Guardian

To kick off their press conference, Sony kicked everything off with a blast from the past by re-announcing that The Last Guardian will be coming to PS4 in 2016. For sure, this was certainly a little bit of a surprise for some people as many thought that this game, which was originally revealed when the PS3 was coming of age back in 2007, was pretty much dead and gone. However, all that un-assured  feelings is gone as The Last Guardian once again comes back to the day of the living. The gameplay that Sony showed off really wasn't anything special for gamers as it was pretty much the same gameplay they had seen 8 years ago. The weird thing that I couldn't get my head around was how drastically similar it looks to when it was first showed off all those years ago. I might be completely wrong and harsh at the same time when I say this but, it doesn't look like anything special. In my defense, I reckon the director Fumito Ueda could of shown off a bit more than just seeing the same young boy character interact with a creature in the same environment we saw before. I think it would of been better if they shown a bit more depth into the game for instance a new location or a character. The fact that they didn't show any new features does make me doubtful that the game will be bland and repetitive. Hopefully all that I've said is wrong as it is a game that for years has been spoken about in hushed rumours and whispers on whether it'll ever be released. The fact that it is confirmed to be released next year though, while some are glad it's returned, The Last Guardian certainly has to offer a lot more to satisfy not only me, but the rest who are not so sure.

Final Fantasy VII - REMAKE

It would be fitting to see the remake be released on it's anniversary

NO... it's not possible, is it? Yes... it is. That's right, to an enormous reaction across the world-wide web and from the actual conference itself with the crowd, Sony have finally headed everyone's call and have announced that a remake of the incredibly beloved Final Fantasy VII (FF7) will be coming to the PS4 "FIRST". To be honest with you all, I don't even know where to begin with this. I think for the majority of everyone who have reacted to this, it's a dream come true. Now I know I'm putting that across in the most lame and corniest way possible, but it's true. For many, 'Final Fantasy' as a series represents a line of games that have unique characters, interesting stories and gameplay structures that change with each new interation. While in recent years, the Final Fantasy games have lost their touch in terms of engaging the gamer with lack of loveable characters and storylines that are confusing beyond belief, it can't be denied that the classic Final Fantasies still hold to be key to certain hearts. Out all of the Final Fantasies however, VII pretty much introduced me and many others into the series. Of course, the very first RPG which I played which would actually be Pokemon Silver, still today holds to be one of my favorite games due to it's longevity over the many other Pokemon games that have been around. Yet, VII was a game that had a similar principle to what Pokemon Silver. While it may seem as though at the start of VII that the majority of your time will always be spent in Midgar, a futuristic dystopian city filled with steam-punk motifs all around, as a matter of fact it widens it's narrative into a grand adventure which is one of the key functions of a Final Fantasy game. Like everyone else everywhere, when I first saw the trailer for the remake, I legit had goosebumps. I knew straight when the music played with that piano excerpt, I knew it would be something related with FFVII. In all honesty, I genuinely thought that it was going to be a sequel to Advent Children, but of course that was not the case. Which I like to presume that we'll see from the game that kind of hints it in the trailer is that they could in fact change the story of VII a little bit. What I mean by this is, there could be segments in this remake that could tell the events before FFVII story which I would like to see. I think what everyone wants to know is wondering right now is how this remake will play like. While it is possible that the creators could in fact go back to the simplistic Final Fantasy turn-based style like what the original VII had, I think it's highly probable that the remake will take elements from the more recent FF game like XIII and even XV. What is a bit concerning to think about is how while it is now revealed that Square Enix are doing this remake which everyone has been demanding for some time now, don't forget that there is still number XV to be released which I think we won't see be released until christmas time in 2016 at the least. So with that in mind, I don't we'll see this game until the years of 2017/18. it would be fitting to release the remake in 2017 since that'll mark the 20th anniversary of the original game. Overall, I just want to see VII as it was with pretty new visuals that the PS4 can offer, maybe some new additions to the storyline and perhaps get the voice actors from Advent Children although that point really doesn't matter. 

Horizon: Zero Dawn

I think for every gamer who watches E3 with a high sense of anticipation, sure we're looking forward to see games that come out later on in the year, but I think as well, there are unknown and completely new games that have the potential to become signifying pieces of work. One game that stood out to me in terms of it having this unique perspective and the fact that it has this potential to a fun sandbox game is Horizon: Zero Dawn. Behind the minds who were responsible for the Killzone series for the Playstation, Game studio 'Guerilla' have come up with a new game. A game that while it is another post-apocalyptic flick, does have a world that bursts with vibrant life and fancy visuals and doesn't fall into a pit that has themes of nuclear fusion like Fallout or Metro. I think it's good to see a new IP that doesn't have a futuristic world that is centred on nuclear fusion or whatever. It's nice to a game like Horizon take the post-apocalyptic world and focuses around the themes of nature and technology which is a clear contrast from one another from the gameplay that was shown. As modern-day society has come to a halt and has eroded away, tribes emerge and gather together to rebuild pockets of civilisation, and face attacks by/on herds of huge robotic dinosaur things. What isn't apparent at the moment at least is that whether Horizon will be open-world? if so then I'm sure most people will be interested since their the sought of games that really sell well nowadays. This game is a good example of how Sony are really trying to produce new and exciting IP's and not focus on things that were supposed to be dead and buried like Microsoft have sought of done at this years E3. 

Uncharted 4

To end things on a bang like what Sony did with their press conference, we do indeed have to talk about Uncharted 4, a game in which will once again not only entertain gamers and film fans alike with it's fun gameplay and engaging story and characters, but will probably make a load of dough for the Sony owners. I think it's fair to say having played two of the other Uncharted games that, this is a series that probably goes up their to be one of the best franchises in gaming history. What makes it so special from a lot of other games is how seriously it takes itself and how in a sense, it shows that the gaming world can in fact compete against blockbuster films and such. the Uncharted games tend to embody elements of adventure that you would normally see in an action film like Indiana Jones which is a good example to use specifically as both entities are similar. these games break the 4th wall in how it plays out to be an action film your watching, yet in fact you are the one controlling what's happening in the 'film' and I've always liked that aspect of the Uncharted series. The gameplay that was shown as per usual shows Drake and his compatriot Sully trying to reach some guy but of course being that this is Drake, he encounters enemies along the way which will always end up in a Mission Impossible-esque set piece spectacle. The game from what I can tell seems similar to past games but that's not really a problem. If the gameplay from the past has worked, then what's the point of changing it? Of course I think there will be some slight changes to how some things work, but for the most part, most people who have played the older games will for sure know what to do. What will be interesting to contemplate is that, do you think there will be another Uncharted? or is this the last? Only time will tell... 

And with that bombshell, that about wraps it up with my picks for E3 2015. I hope you've enjoyed the read, if you have be sure to check out my other Blog posts and be sure to keep in tune with the Blog as I will try to do more Game News segments like this one. If you have any opinions on this years E3 or on any games that I should of included in this list, by all means, feel free to post a comment down below. As always guys, thankyou for reading and I'll see you all very soon. Take care! :)

Alex Rabbitte.