E3 2016 Highlights

Originally published June, 2016

Since video games are a big focus of this blog space and of my spare time, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to include something about the things that jumped out at me from the various press conferences of E3 2016. I could certainly write longer articles about a bunch of these events or trailers, but for now, here are just some notes I took about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the biggest annual video game press event.

Electronic Arts

I'm not sure the CEO knows how to be very convincing in his delivery on stage when discussing his excitement for the new games, or shovels in Battlefield 1 for that matter.

Indie Games focus. Direct quote: "All profits go back into the hands of the developers." I'm not quite sure that's what they really mean...

Titanfall 2 Trailer

Looks very promising. A very convincing trailer that is even more enticing after watching the flops of other press conferences.

+Grappling hooks

Fe

Looks alright. Some cool mechanics involved, but looks similar to other indie games.

Star Wars....

7+ developers? How many games are they making? Visceral's looked a little promising, especially with Amy Hennig at the helm.

Battlefield 1

Why did they show the first minute of the trailer just to show it again? Looks like a Battlefield game. Surprising how refreshing a WWI game is in comparison to the other shooters out there.

You owe yourself to watch the Battlefield stream afterwards. Jamie Foxx looks more than lost.

Bethesda

Solid, but don't remember too much from the whole show. Lot of talk about Doom and Quake, which makes sense.

Quake: Champions

Is this a Quake game or is this just Battleborn by Bethesda?

Skyrim Re-Mastered

Looks very good. I wouldn't play Skyrim again, but for those who haven't, this would be a good addition for console gamers, especially since the game has mods enabled. Probably going to make plenty of money for them.

Prey

Disappointed the Blade Runner-esk game of Prey 2 won't be this, but the psychological horror that seems to be happening here is interesting.

Dishonored 2

I liked the first Dishonored, so I'm more than eager to see where else the series will go. The demo was a little underwhelming, but still interesting. Would have actually liked if Corvo was still a silent protagonist and treated like Gordon Freeman for being so quiet.

Microsoft

Overall a good conference. Gave a number of different visions for their console and for Windows and how they're going to keep up with their primary competitor and with the VR craze happening. Much more informative and professional than most other conferences.

New Console

Hey a version of the Xbox that can actually fit somewhere! If it's cheap, then maybe...

We Happy Few

One of the better trailers. Strong vibes of Bioshock and Fallout 3.

Final Fantasy XV+ Scalebound

Two JRPG action games that look almost the same in regards to the type of trailer. Neither trailer told me what the rest of the game was like and ended up being a little boring.

Minecraft

Don't care. Everyone who's already been playing the game before Microsoft bought it likely doesn't care either.

State of Decay 2

That first State of Decay was a decent game. I liked it better than most Zombie survival games. Perhaps a sequel will give the developers the chance to make good on their ideas?

Battlefield 1

It's that same trailer that they showed before. Yay!

Rare's Sea of Thieves

Rare's making games again! Looks cool creating the pirate game people have been wanting for a while and forcing players to cooperate on a vessel to survive.

Ubisoft

Ubisoft and its usual WTF stuff with dancing animals and candy to the sound of Queen. Aisha Taylor providing some referential humor as well as some thoughtful and meaningful statements about Orlando.

Once again, Aisha has proven to be the best presenter Ubisoft has ever gotten and manages to make everyone more comfortable with the goofiness and awkwardness of a video game press conference.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Ghost Recon: Wildlands = Far Cry? ; bad fake dialogue in the demo. Still looks promising.

South Park: The Shattered but Whole

Trey Parker Matt Stone in a talk show format. Stick of Truth sequel, but more about a different role-playing game. Instead of fantasy its superheros. Awkward demo format that spoils jokes and gameplay that most people understand and expect of a South Park game.

For Honor

Free-for-all melee combat of Dynasty Warriors + Bushido Blade?

Trials of the Blood Dragon

Great trailer. Good combination of solid games and suddenly to be released as soon as the conference was over.

Assassin's Creed Movie

Congrats, you're making a movie. Who cares?

Watch Dogs 2

Will be in SF. Only reason I'm interested. Looks like Watchdogs and just as tonally dumb with over-the-top goofiness that doesn't fit with the dark nature of the game.

Sony

Less talking at Sony than the other conferences about what's on display. Seemed too anxious to show trailers and not enough to talk about their plan for the next year with all their hardware plans. Don't really know what's going on with the VR business and they're certainly not making me care about it more.

God of War

Norse mythology? but he still has Spartan rage. Reboot or sequel? Different gameplay style, looks a little like Dark Souls and Tomb Raider.

Last Guardian

Finally a release date: Oct 25 2016. I almost expected the next Tool album to come out first.

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Mass Effect + Princess Mononoke. Looks good. Dumb name, though.

Detroit: Become Human

Quantic Dream's game should just be called Uncanny Valley. This all looks like the same promises this team has made on every game they've produced. No thanks.

Resident Evil VII

PT strikes again! In the hopes of reinvigorating a horror franchise that lost its roots, it looks like Capcom is taking some serious inspiration from RE's direct rival that was supposed to do the same thing,

PS VR

400 bucks October 13 2016

VR stuff looks like tech demo stuff still; not full games just a VR EXPERIENCE

VR Final Fantasy looked like a mess in just the trailer itself.

Call of Duty Infinite Warfare

COD. In. Space! + Grappling Hooks

Death Stranding

Kojima at Sony E3 - Sony Exclusive? Another PT project with Norman Reedus but no Guillermo Del Toro?

Insomniac Spider-Man

PS4 Exclusive? Possible good Spider-Man game or at least decent?

Days Gone

Oh look, more zombies

Nintendo

Pretty minimal, but they're not doing the traditional press conference anyway since they announce their stuff when they want on their own Nintendo Direct schedule. Instead just a stream of Pokémon and Zelda.

Pokémon

It's Pokémon.

Zelda Breath of Wild

It's Zelda. Looks pretty good, as I'd expect.

Overall Impression

Somewhat a surprising year. I'm surprised by how interested I am in certain games and finally have a small motivation to get a console of this generation with games like Horizon, God of War, and Sea of Thieves. Titanfall finally has my attention and I'm excited to see where We Happy Fewgoes and if Resident Evil goes in completely new directions. I'm even inclined to get an Xbox to avoid upgrading to Windows 10 on my home machine.

I am a little underwhelmed by a few of the big titles or the ones that are supposed to be surprises like Prey or Battlefield 1, but it's still early. I'm also still not interested in VR and nothing that I saw this whole E3 has convinced me that it is something I should even want to have.

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