E3 2015 is here and so far...Holy Crap! (Update #1)

Man so far E3 has not disappointed this year.  Next gen games are dominating of course and it makes me hate the fact that I'm as poor as I am as its a great time to be a gamer right now.

So lets go over the games that really caught my interest.

--Bethesda--
Fallout 4
It doesn't get better than what was shown for Fallout 4.  Now I have enjoyed Fallout 3 and New Vegas, and these games got new life with the ability to mod them out on the PC.  Fallout 4 is so crisp and clean, and looks just fun to play that I cannot wait to see what the modding community is going to do with this game.  This so good looking that it will likely be the first major game I will buy after upgrading my computer for it...once I get the money for doing that (another new video card, processor, and hard drive).  One of the coolest additions...you can craft almost anything, from a house to your firearms.  It just looks great!

And best of all it is coming out November 10, 2015!


Dishonored 2
I enjoyed the first version of this game.  It was fun and a different way of playing an assassination type game.  More over you get to see what happened to the little girl you saved at the end of the first game, and apparently you get to play the main character again too.  Like the first game you can apparently play the whole game with out killing a single opponent.  While not the top of my list it is still a great addition to expect.


--Microsoft/X-Box--
Now the first thing that is big news here is that the X-Box One will in the not so near future be "Backwards Compatable"!  Now its interesting to hear this and one has to wonder if the hardware in the X-Box One is already capable of handling X-Box 360 disks and all that is needed is just a software update.  And yes they are saying that you can run your Digital Downloads and/or use a physical game disk...though you will have to download the game to the system's hard drive.  This alone however means you better buy the 1 Terabyte system.


Rise of the Tomb Raider
Now I enjoyed the Tomb Raider 2013 game which gave us a new way to play Tomb Raider by introducing some RPG like elements into the game while introducing us to a younger and more realistic Lara Croft.  This game not only looks good and intense, but it appears to retain the same game play aspects as the first...though the RPG like upgrading of equipment and gaining skills wasn't showcased.


Now beyond this I can say that there was nothing else shown that grabbed my interest...sorry X-Box but you just didn't bring it this year.  Though admittedly the Hollow Lens system and Minecraft demo did look cool and fun.


--Electronic Arts/EA--
Mass Effect - Andromeda
While they didn't show off more than a teaser trailer it was enough to get my attention as I have long enjoyed the Mass Effect game series.  What will be interesting is to see where the world has evolved to since the last 3 games.  Will the game take place after Mass Effect 3?  Will it be set before it?  Or will it be an all new game that takes place in a separate setting from the others?



Star Wars The Old Republic - Knights of the Fallen Empire
Ok so I played the game and only this year finally beat the original quest.  But the problem with the game was that I lost interest after spending weeks not being able to get past the final boss.  However the story for this expansion looks interesting and makes me want to dive back in and see where it will take me.  Now the expansion will be coming out Ocobter 27th, 2015.


Star Wars Battlefront
So this game looks slick and fantastic.  Everything looks like it is from the film and that you are really there fighting along side the Imperials or the Rebels.  Everything looks that good.  So least to say I cannot wait to get my hands on this and giving it a try.





--Ubisoft--
South Park - The Fractured But Whole
Ok so the last game they said they wouldn't make another video game...well they just realized that they learned how to make a good video game and thought - well we might regret it, but lets do another.  And least to say that the trailer looked fun just like the first game.  I enjoyed the game alot though I wished there had been DLC, but nothing ever showed up.  And hopefully this time around we get some more stuff for this.

The game starts with everyone playing a fantasy game again.  Then suddenly Butters appears as Professor Chaos.  The Cartman then lets everyone know that their playing Super Heroes now and the trailer progresses.

So least to say I'm looking forward to playing this game...with headphones since I can't let my kids hear even 1/3rd of the things said in the game.


Assassins Creed - Syndicate
Now obviously I haven't played Rogue or Unity, but I have seen playthrough's for both games.  This game brings the setting to a more modern time in England.  Think of the game taking place during Sherlock Holmes's time.  The trailer doesn't show any game play footage but it is still a nice trailer to watch.  Least to say it will be interesting to see how the story of this game unfolds in the Animus and back in the real world.



--Sony--
Ok, to start it off there is one thing here that makes Sony, or Square Enix, the winner of E3.

Uncharted 4
So I have obviously never played the Uncharted series of games but have seen plenty of playthroughs for them.  The humor and feeling of action of these games reminds me and a lot of other players of Indiana Jones.  Now what hooked me here is the game play that was shown.  The banter between Drake and his friend was like something pulled directly out of an Indiana Jones movie, not to mention the problems escaping trouble.  If I ever do get my hands on a PS4 this will definitely be on the list of games I will play.


And now for the big one, the game that was to say the least a show stopper for the evening.









The second I saw all the big tubes after the Square Enix logo I knew what this game was...the music was also a dead giveaway.  And if you don't know this logo...you don't play alot of these games...and they have quite a few that have come out.

Well if you haven't figured out what game it is yet, here is the telling image.



Yep, that right.  Its official.  Final Fantasy 7 is being remade!  One of the greatest RPG's ever made is finally getting a modern remake.  It will be interesting if Square Enix will show more of the game beyond the teaser trailer that announced the game.  I can only hope that this will be on PC and X-Box...especially as I am more likely to purchase an X-Box One over a PS4 since they announced the backwards compatibility.  But least to say that it was this teaser that won it for Sony for the evening.

In case you are curious, here is the official trailer.

Least to say that its been a fairly interesting day.


DAY 2

--Nintendo--
Really Nintendo...puppets?  Least to say Nintendo provided an underwhelming show with nothing worth even hoping for.  Now I would say Xenoblade Chronicles is nice...but its on Nintendo.  And frankly Nintendo is a dying platform that no one really wants to have anything to do with.

So in all I'd say:  "Go home Nintendo, your drunk again."


--Square Enix--
Man the crowd here is really quiet.  Just Cause 3 was nothing special looking, but looked fun.  Then things moved on to the new "Nier" game that is in development which got no applause...not to mention the weirdo who came out in cosplay with a mask on that he couldn't even see with.  The first game was kind of fun but at the same time convoluted and required multiple playthroughs in order to really actually beat the game.  Now it could also be that there's just not a lot of people sitting in on the conference at the moment and more will trickle in as the morning goes on.  The game "World of Final Fantasy" was mentioned the other day, but even with the second showing here it still looked like trash.


Rise of the Tomb Raider
Square Enix revisited the trailer showed earlier but they chose here to go over the production of the game to some degree.  They then followed this up with "Lara Croft Go".  This game works in the same vein as Hitman Go.









Final Fantasy 7 Remake
The trailer was indeed revisited.  They also explained wanting to release the original version which was released for the PC on PS4 and IOS.








Kingdom Hearts III
A return to a classic.  The trailer introduced us to an older Sora and his returning companions Donald Duck and Goofy.  The trailer gave no real glimpse at the story, but did show of some game play.  I hope however that the problematic controls of the first two games are fixed in the new game.






Hitman
A sandbox version of Hitman were the world is ever growing and changing.  The game looks interesting and they showcase plenty of game play as well as a bit of the story were you play as Agent 47 at the height of his capabilities in the Agency.  But the game in general looks interesting.






Deus Ex - Mankind Divided
So today they showed off the first in game trailer for this.  There is an actual trailer already out there but this is the first one going over the story and showing in game footage.  Once again you are Adam Jensen and your bionics are still evolving.  This also is another great game to look forward to.



In general the Square Enix presentation, while showing off some cool games, had an underwhelming audience reaction to things.