Smaller experiences, or “indies” as they are called, are the heart of the video game industry right now. Over the years we have been blessed by the gamer gods with experiences such as Journey, Brother: A Tale of Two Sons, Gone Home, Ori and the Blind Forest, and more recently Firewatch. Now we are bestowed Inside upon us. Inside is an Xbox One console exclusive (also available on Steam), and if you own an Xbox One, you are required to play it…it’s just that simple.
From Playdead’s Limbo
Inside comes from the studio, Playdead, who brought us all Limbo back in 2010. Limbo was known for its ambient storytelling, interesting art style, and clever puzzles. Inside is the obvious step forward for this studio as they take everything they learned from creating Limbo, and implement those lessons and new ideas into what is easily one of the greatest gaming experiences I have played this year…nay…this generation.
Inside starts off very much like Limbo. You are a young boy, in a dark forest, running to the right of the screen as you complete simple but smart environmental puzzles. The ambient story telling that was in Limbo returns here and it works even better this time around. Right off the back I get the conflict, and I understand the story. My goal is to survive in this dystopian world by any means necessary. Strange men in masks chase the young boy, sending dogs after him, and hunt him down using vehicles and flashlights as a sense of tension is created that not only has me caring about my survival, but has me clutching my controller as I make close calls, and quick escapes. “Go, go, go go, go!” seems to be my inner mantra as I run daringly across the levels and make leaps of faith into the unknown, in hopes for a brief respite. The sense of atmosphere is so cleverly pieced together, as the hauntingly beautiful aesthetic works for the bleak story they are trying to convey. Part of that tension building is accompanied by the outstanding soundtrack that again is more ambient than it is present. The game is all about having the story pieces on display, but making you put them together by being observant. The environment tells a better story than most games with spoken word, which this game lacks completely. The implementation of color is also noteworthy. What starts of as muted blacks and whites we are then slowly introduced to more colors as the pallet expands itself out but never to the point of being colorful. The game retains its tones through its implementation of these muted colors and this works majorly to its themes, and tone.
The game controls are simple and smooth. Directional joysticks control you character, and one of the face buttons act as your jump while another acts as your “interaction” or “grab.” At no point did I ever find myself fighting against the control layout or the mechanics themselves. The puzzles are frequent but never overbearing. I am not a puzzle fan at all, and not once did I ever find myself checking my watch for how much time I spent on a section or even worse, getting bored. I found myself using the word, “smart,” over and over again. Smart is the way I felt when I completed a puzzle, and it was what I kept saying out loud when seeing the mechanics and layout of said puzzles. The design of this game is just brilliant, in every sense of the word. The Inside experience had a stranglehold on me, and has me rethinking how I feel about the puzzle/platforming genre in general.
It took me about two hours to complete Inside, and the average seems to be in that range, or around 3 hours for those who take in the sights a bit more or get caught longer on a few of the less hand holding puzzles. It is an experience I highly suggest you play in one sitting, so you get the full immersion of what the story has to offer.
While this game is very much about the journey, it is equal parts about the destination. Thankfully, Inside’s ending delivers in every way. No worries, I refuse to spoil it here because it needs to be experienced, heck I doubt I would do it any justice. What I will say, is that the ending is thought provoking, head scratching, WTF inducing, and very much so open to interpretation. I suspect people will be talking about the end of Inside much like gamers talked about the ending of Journey for years after its release. Even right now, there are thousands of discussions happening between players of Inside who are bouncing theories, ideas, and their own interpretations off one another. If a game can spark so much conversation, then to me that makes it more than the sum of its parts. All the praise and accolades this game has gotten from players and critics alike are warranted. If you own an Xbox One, or are part of that ever so loving PC Master Race, you need to do yourself a favor and drop everything you are doing and purchase Inside. You want to be part of this conversation because this will be a game that inspires many, inside and outside of the industry.
REVIEW | Salt and Sanctuary
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
REVIEW | Spider-Man PS4
Review | Re-Exploring No Man’s Sky Next
REVIEW | Downward Spiral: Horus Station
E3 is the stuff that gamer dreams are made of, even nearly a month after all the announcements. It is never too late to report on hype, so here I am sharing the E3 experience, as told by some guy watching from his couch. I have been following the event for 14 straight years now, and it is customary for me to been write out my thoughts and reactions to all of the announcements. This is my gamer holiday, my gamer Christmas…E3 is my gamer Mecca. Allow me to take you through my journey of E3 2016, and why I think it was one of the most successful trade shows in the history of the business.
Living Through the Hype
There is nothing quite like the Electronic Entertainment Expo for a passionate gamer like myself. Every year E3 acts as a temperature check for hype of the industry, but more importantly it proves that this industry isn’t going anywhere. It is as healthy as it has ever been and while a trade show like E3 may not be around forever, it will take a new form in terms of being a hype generating machine. We need trade shows and press events like this, and while more and more studios, companies, and developers drop out in turn of trying out their own personal conferences, one thing is for sure, there is nothing in this world quite like the week of E3.
This year there weren’t any “next gen consoles” to announce, it was just all about the games, and boy howdy were there some interesting looking experiences. Sure Microsoft tried to sneak in a few words about their slim line system as well as their .5 step up labeled the Scorpio, but they did it with class and it took up minimal time of the press conference. You would think Sony would have spent so much time on showing VR games that are near impossible to show in a press conference setting, and while they did show up with some news, it was such a small fraction of time that they took up. Everybody who showed up for E3, including EA, Ubisoft, Bethesda and Nintendo, came to win. They came to murder the competition and explain why their games are the experiences you should be playing this fall and going forward. I think all of them had strong showcases (with a few major stumbles from EA) and delivered on the one currency that matters in this industry…hype.
As an agent of hype, I go out of my way to be overly excited about any and all games. Pushed release dates, games that won’t come out for another 3 years, and completely out of context CG trailers do not put me off. Speculating on these games that are not out yet is one of my favorite activities to do. I like to build my own story and elevate my own hype on these experiences that are years out, and then the payoff of getting them when they finally do arrive is unmatched to any feeling this industry can evoke. Has my hype ever turned against me? Sure every once in a while, but I don’t let that ruin future potential to be excited about something. I’d rather be excited and let down than spend the road to launch being pessimistic and worried. Gosh that just seems incredibly draining; I’ll take the hype any day. So we all get it now right? We are on the same page? E3 gets me hyped and now it’s time to break this year’s conferences wide open. I just want to focus on my personal High and Low of each conference.
EA Conference
This was the first conference of the week and by far the weakest, but I think it set expectations correctly for my mind (and hopefully yours) to be efficiently blown by the coming conferences. What was not lacking however was how they started the conference. That first game announcement is the hook, and blowing out Titanfall 2 at the top of the show was an amazing idea. That game showcased so well, and the single player trailer got me more than hyped to get back into this series. I really enjoyed the first game, and it is quite easy to tell we live in a post Titanfall FPS world now that all games have taken their locomotion mechanics. It’s hard to find a shooter nowadays that you aren’t jet-packing, double jumping, and wall running around, and that’s totally okay but just remember who pioneered it! Titans seem to have personalities and characteristics now, and I have a feeling that will be on full display in the story mode. It is very hard to top the new whip though, which adds to your maneuverability as well as works as a melee weapon. Gosh, the end of that trailer where the two pilots are in the sky and whipping towards one another…that’s how you evoke mass excitement!
Unfortunately I have some negative things to say about this conference. A few things really rubbed me the wrong way, and the biggest offender Mass Effect. This was the year to show that game; this was the time for a blowout. Mass Effect Andromeda is coming out next year and we already suffered a delay this year. After the trailer showed, we knew nothing more than what we did a year ago and that is a MAJOR issue. Did I enjoy the trailer? Of course I did, I will enjoy anything with Mass Effect in it. Was it a tease? Overwhelmingly so. We need to know more about this game, and this little trail of breadcrumbs is just not enough. We need facts, we need gameplay…we need some real news Bioware.
The upsets did not end there however, EA was nice enough to bring up the Star Wars games and that is pretty much all they did with them. They might as well have just had somebody come on stage and say, “They exist!” I love seeing Amy Hennig with Visceral talk about Star Wars, and I love seeing dudes in mo-cap suits playing with lightsabers with the Respawn logo in the background. Seeing glimpses of in engine screen shots is always welcomed…but I just needed more to get that level of hype I love to dwell in. If wanting more is the worst thing I can say about this conference, then to me I’d say they still did pretty well.
Bethesda Conference
From the Prey Trailer
Bethesda really knew how to pick up where EA faltered. They came out strong with a Quake announcement and then it never let up until the conference’s end. The high point of Bethesda’s hour for me was the new Prey trailer. I had no idea I was watching a Prey trailer until I saw the title reveal. I was never a big fan of the first game but was excited about the idea of the sequel announced a few years back. Well now that’s out and this reboot/rebrand is in. The narrative that the trailer showcases is awesome. I was so drawn in by this man who ends up speaking to himself by the scene’s end while living a Groundhog’s Day experience as he relives the same day over and over. Who is this man, what is happening to him, and how does he fit into the real story? I don’t know, and I don’t need to know. The trailer sets a tone that I am interested in and I cannot wait to see how it all pans out.
Comparison of Graphics
I wanted to give Skyrim Special Edition as my high for this conference but I have put 300 hours into the original, and despite me being the one of many who feverishly asked for this game, I would feel bad to give it a highlight spot when something new and fresh like Prey should get some of my much deserved limelight. So while Skyrim SE is probably what I am most excited for, Prey is the real show stealer here.
It is hard to nail down a low point for this conference, and heck pretty much every conference going forward. At gun point I would have to say there was a bit of a stumble with announcing the Fallout 4 DLC. I thought it showed well, but it was too quick, and I guess I figured there would be a much bigger announcement. Perhaps those expectations are unfair because Far Harbor DLC did just come out, but for a conference I guess I just hoped for something a bit more than adding working conveyor belts to your settlements. This just comes off nitpicky and that is because it is. The conference was great and it is hard to find anything negative about it. For the new kids on the conference block (this is only their second year at E3) they really knocked it out of the park.
Microsoft
Microsoft was up next on Monday and just like the last few years, they really came out swinging. Sure they opened with an announcement of a slim model which is good, because it just gets it out of the way so the focus can turn to what matters, games. After watching this conference I thought there was no way that Sony had the lineup to usurper Microsoft this year. More on how that turns out later.
Microsoft had so many highs that it’s hard to pick one. It is so easy to go with something like We Happy Few which felt like a completely Bioshock inspired game. Every fiber of my being is shouting at me to write about Scalebound and their awesome presentation…but deep down I know that what wowed me the most was Sea of Thieves. During the entirety of it’s on stage demo (and its following hands on impressions from trusted industry types) I was just thinking of how many friends I knew who owned a Xbox One…and how do I get them to buy this game so we can all go on swashbuckling adventures together. Luckily it will take no convincing because the game speaks for itself. Want to meet up in a tavern and drink with friends? Go for it. Find a treasure map on the island you are on? Go look for it! Want 
to rob people coming out drunk from the local tavern? By all means do it. The real meat and potatoes is boating up with a crew and hitting the high seas. Out there you can run into sea monsters, or worse, other ships with their own crew. Each crew member has a function. One needs to man the sails, the other the anchor, somebody needs to be in crows nest navigating, and a trusted pirate friend needs to be at the helm. Everybody has a function, and everybody must be communicating to ensure that the dangerous ships and crews you face out there will not lead you to a watery grave. The first thing I am doing? Loading up my boat with booze, pals, and instruments, and we will sing sea shanties all the way to Davy Jones’ locker.
There were next to no low points in this conference. I feel that I do have to point out that I thought ending with the big Scorpio reveal (Microsoft’s .5 console) was a misstep. Really Microsoft? This is the thing you were most excited to show us? Well, I was not excited and while I understand why these .5 systems exist, I do not care to upgrade at this moment in time, especially if all games will continue to work on the current versions of the consoles. Was it a bad announcement? By no means, I thought they did a good job at giving us the information…but I just don’t feel it was the announcement to end on.
Ubisoft
Ubisoft, Ubisoft, oh where art though Ubisoft? Seriously this is the Ubisoft I have always wanted. No annual Assassin’s Creed to slow the conference down, and the weird ecstasy filled dance party at the top of the show was their only “weird moment.” Never before has Ubisoft came out so strong at E3, and that is probably why they are suffering form a corporate hostile takeover by Vivendi. You’re looking too good these days Ubisoft! In any case, Ubisoft focused on all the right things and ended their conference with a big new IP. Sure at surface level Steep seems just like a snow extreme sports game, but is much deeper and you have a community enriched experience filled with so much freedom in terms of traversal and activities. While this was a big moment, it is far from game of the show material.
The moment of hype comes in the form of, South Park: The Fractured But Whole. Not only is this an insanely fun title to say and type, but it also showcased wonderfully. Trey and Matt (the creators of South Park) came out and discussed their heavy involvement in the game. They gave us a very funny trailer which completely satires the blueprint of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase system. If that wasn’t enough, we get three awesome gameplay snippets. The demo itself was filled with great South Park jokes, and Matt and Trey themselves just seemed so excited to show off this game. It was such a treat to see them so passionate about this project. They were very vocal about how demanding The Stick of Truth was and it seemed like they would never do a game again…yet here they are. Guys and gals, it is more than we deserve as gamers!
The low point was hardly low. If anything this is just another positive masquerading around as a negative. I am not a big Watch Dogs fan, so there was not much the sequel could do to get me on board. I thought the first game was hollow, the main character to be as interesting as a wet rag, and found every single mechanic to be less than a game like Grand Theft Auto V. However, this showcasing of the sequel actually has me looking at the game in a much more positive light. The game seems fun, the new character comes off as interesting, and all the little mechanical gripes seemed to have been fixed. Am I back in? Nope, but I can and will recognize that this game does seem to be in good shape. I feel the demo went on a bit long but in the end it did what it set out to do, and that was showing off that they were indeed listening to the fans and their complaints of the original. That is classy as hell Ubisoft.
Sony
Sony my Sony, my sweet and fair Sony…you had so much riding against you this year. You have constant lack of first party games, and all of your delays on properties announced last year are more than noticeable. I had little hope you would take the W this year. Well that’s what I get for thinking. I had figured that they would come out; talk too long about VR and their new .5 system upgrade. Instead you pulled the rug out from underneath us all, and proved why you are still leading this generation.
Where do I even begin in breaking down the major highlight of this conference? How do I choose one? Heck, I could not even choose a game and instead talk about their incredible pacing of their showcases, or even their choice of not resting on their games announced last year. Hell I would even love to gush about the live orchestral performance that lasted through the entire conference. Instead of hearing about Kingdom Hearts 3, Final Fantasy 7, and Shenmue 3, we get a totally new roster of awesome announcements. Some we knew of, while others were major surprises. Is it worth me dwelling on how much God of War rocked me? Never been a fan of the series, but what I saw had me caring in a big way. What about the Heavy Rain inspired game Detroit: Become Human? Sure it was impressive but it was just validating what I already knew.
Sony Bend’s Days Gone
The show opened up with Syphon Filter’s developer Sony Bend studio and their new game Days Gone. While the trailer itself had a very Last of Us feeling, the real bread and butter came from the end of conference gameplay. Wow what an impressive stage demo. The game’s enemy, whom can only be described as the zombies (don’t call them that though!) from World War Z, moves like cascading water in tandem with one another like a wave of bodies. Well look at that, it seems this may have been my highlight of the conference. Sometimes you just have to work these things out on paper before realizing what really wowed you the most. It would have been so easy to talk about how awesome Horizon showed, or talk about the big Resident Evil 7 reveal with a PT like marketing demo. While all of these announcements are game of the show worthy, I truly feel that the surprise of Days Gone landed in a big way for me. The fact that so many people did not feel the same way alarms me, but we like what we like.
It is hard for me to pick out any moments where I felt the pace of the show was hindered. The show was nonstop trailers with minimal talking or presenting, so when those slow moments came with the Skylander’s reveal and the minimal VR…it was necessary to slow that heart rate. The amount of excitement that they built through the run-time of the show was so intensely satisfying that the down time ensured our poor little hearts wouldn’t breakthrough our rib-cage. Do I care about Skylanders? No I do not; I could not even begin to care less. Do I want stage time on VR? Not particularly, but they didn’t dwell on it long and moved right past it and back to their original pacing. What I am trying to say is, that I had little to zero issues with this conference and it should be the defining mold of E3 press conferences moving forward.
Living Post Hype
So with E3 now in our rear-view mirror, a lot of us have that post E3 depression. We’ve all heard so many good things about so many games that aren’t even close to being out. So you may ask, Kyle, how do we even cope with knowing we are so far away from so many great experiences? My answer, give into the hype. I am not saying blindly love and be excited for all of these things until they reach unobtainable levels of interest. What I mean is just give into the excitement, ride the wave of hype all the way to release. The excitement you get from pondering on a game on the horizon is unlike anything else. You will never have this road to excitement other than now, so why even fight it? Excitement and hype are good. For me there is no such thing as “over-hyped.” It is a term I see thrown around all too often. While the game may not have lived up to expectations, nothing can take away those moments of pure concentrated excitement that you felt all the way up to launch. It is a good feeling, so embrace it. E3 is a time where we all as gamers come together and get excited for our healthy industry. I feel that pessimism is in low reserves during this week. Of course it is re-birthed the week after and the internet goes right back to its awful self, but in that moment…we all have E3…we all have the hype.
Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
PAX South 2019: Devil May Cry 5, Young Souls, Magequit
Nan Desu Kan 2018 Photo Gallery
A little while ago Microsoft released a technical preview for their newest operating system, Windows 10. I got a chance to play around with it some and see what’s new and improved over Windows 8. Keeping in mind that an official release likely won’t be until the middle of 2015, there’s still a lot of time for things to change. And if this turns out to be anything like the Windows 8 release process we still have the developer preview and consumer preview to come before an release candidate or RTM. If you’re interested in seeing how that process unfolded for Windows 8 in fact, you can check out my series on the Windows 8 RTM from 2012 here.
Personally, I never really had a problem with Windows 8 – it was a little different but to those that do the computer thing for a living the learning curve was fairly small. But to a lot of Windows users, dealing with the new UI they introduced was a nightmare, and let’s face it kids, to them that Start button was the truth. They just didn’t know it until the Metro UI Start Screen had replaced it. The backlash was huge from users on both the home and enterprise sides, and being a professional nerd I was able to see the meltdown first hand by both sectors. I watched home users stumble and fumble trying to deal with live tiles to find programs with, I kid you not, pure distress and pain in their voices like someone had just robbed them of a family heirloom.
Oh that start button. It’s like Windows users everywhere were collectively Gollum and that button was the damn precious.
As for the business side, IT shops were reluctant to say the least about putting 8 into play. I myself said that there was no way would roll it out into my environment. I even made sure the workstations I got on our last PC refresh were downgradable to 7. I had visions of my users coming after me with torches and pitchforks, with calls and complaints to my team every 15 seconds – sad, tearful users murmuring “but… but how do i find mail?” So this OS which was intended to bridge the gap between mobile and desktop never really got a good foothold. No one really wanted it. The start button became a turf war. So naturally the biggest cosmetic change users will notice in Windows 10 is the return of –
The Start button
Start button lovers rejoice! While it may be a little different than what you’re used to, it’s back with a couple of tweaks. Instead of the full start screen, what they’ve done is given you two things side by side – a mini Windows 8 style start screen joined with the Windows 7 style start button. And actually it works pretty great.
The settings allow for customization so that you can have as many (or as few) live tiles as you want on your start button, while displaying as many things as you want on the left side of the menu. Apps that are frequently used will pop up there, along with any shortcuts you choose to add like Control Panel or Administrative Tools. Right clicking the start button also gives you shortcuts to commands that are commonly used, like command prompt and computer management.
When adding live tiles (done through a simple drag and drop mechanism), you can still customize their size and with it how wide your start menu can get. I would almost consider the live tiles portion of the start menu something like the notification bar on an android device, automatically updating and notifying users when something new is happening. And if you’re the type of user that’s just a live tile glutton, you can actually add enough live tiles to extend your start menu all the way out to the right edge of your screen.
Now to be honest I kind of missed the Windows 8 start screen a little bit while starting my foray into 10. It became one of those things I had gotten used to using that eventually found its way into my routine. But I got over it pretty quickly. I was never really one for menus anyway – I’m from the old school. I grew up with Windows 3 and DOS 5, and do most things with shortcut keys, the run command and command prompt (oh that’s right). But for those of you (I’m sure the number is few) that prefer the start screen, all you have to do is change a setting, and clicking start brings back your full start screen.
I mean it is pretty.
The funny thing is though, while so many users reviled 8 for it’s lack of a start button, the Windows 8 technical preview DID in fact have a start button option, which was able to be toggled on and off with a registry setting. That registry key was removed by the time we got the consumer preview in 2012, which left more than a few IT pros (myself included) confused. Strange decision on Microsoft’s part, but one they’re making up for now.
Virtual Desktops
They’re called virtual desktops but don’t get them confused with virtual machines. What Windows 10 has done with this is added functionality to the alt+tab shortcut we all love so much to switch between running applications. What’s new though is what happens when you hit window+tab – it will again give you the option of switching between your active programs, but at the same time allow you to add a virtual desktop for some more space for more stuff.
I run 2 monitors and will never (ever) go back. When I need extra desktop real estate without clutter I can drag stuff over to my 2nd monitor and still see everything clearly. What virtual desktops do is allow a user to simulate that multi-screen environment on a single screen. You’re still only running one Windows session, but as if you have multiple desktops with different things on each screen. For those of you that run Linux systems this works exactly like the multiple desktops in a KDE or GNOME setup.
So for example, in the screenshot I have here, window+tab allows me to see what I have running on my current desktop (we’ll call it desktop 1), on which i’ve got my documents folder and the battle.net launcher (I was fixin’ to play some Diablo III). But it also gives me the option to switch to another desktop I have running (desktop 2), in which I’m browsing the internet in Google Chrome. Or if I wanted to I could make a third virtual desktop for more space.
And to cut down on confusion, Windows also tells you what you have running in other desktops. For example in desktop 1, Google Chrome is highlighted with a faint grey underline to tell me it’s running elsewhere.
Compatibility (machine specs at end of article)
On my main rig*, so far I’ve found that if it works with Windows 8, it’ll work with Windows 10. The technical preview had no issue picking up all of the drivers for my devices from HP and nVidia, and worked with my motherboard without breaking a sweat. The first thing that came up when I fired it up for the first time was a notice that there was a Windows Update available for current version drivers for all of my stuff – which is surprising, given my experiences playing with other OS previews and betas from big blue.
To test it further I installed some stuff I would normally use on my machine – namely the battle.net application and Diablo III. Everything ran smooth with the settings turned all the way up, but there was some definite video lag and choppiness in animations when there was a lot of activity happening on the screen. This doesn’t happen when I’m running it through Windows 8.1.
On my older Windows 7 laptop* though there were a few snags. Radeon drivers gave me a bit of trouble installing the driver and Catalyst software, and some of the HP-specific stuff was hard to get without manually searching and trying to force Windows 7 drivers to work with 10 which were, well, not very friendly to say the least. But that’s older (well, old-ish) hardware, so I wasn’t really surprised.
The Early Verdict
I like it and I like what it could potentially be. For an early build, it looks like Microsoft has really focused on fixing the shortcomings of Windows 8 and trying to put out an operating system that has some appeal to all users, both desktop and mobile. Which is good, because I was never on board with the “post-PC era” shtick I’ve been seeing everyone buying into for some time now. It feels good on my main rig and I can still see using it on a Surface or other Windows tablet, so it looks like this could potentially deliver to both a good touch as well as a mouse and keyboard experience. Then again I did say the same thing in my early Windows 8 impressions, and that did go, shall we say… awry.
As it presently stands I would consider this a definite upgrade for users running Windows 8 on a desktop, but wouldn’t call it a necessary update for users running Windows 7. Windows 7 is still in effect and a complete operating system that users are still crazy for, and with reason. It’s a solid OS both for home and business, and let’s not forget that it rescued us from the beast that was Vista. So far this technical preview has hit over 1 million downloads, so we’ll see how this goes. I’m sure they’ll generate a lot of feedback to shape how these builds roll out.
* Main rig test specs: ASUS Z87-Pro, i7-4770K, 8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X, nVidia GeForce GTX 660 2GB, 1TB Western Digital Black
* Windows 7 laptop specs: HP dv6t quad, i7-2720M, 8GB DDR3, Radeon HD 7690M 2GB, 750GB HDD
Tushar Nene
Staff Writer
@tusharnene
Aquaman is the Embodiment of “Fine”
REVIEW | The Punisher Season 2
Sub Cultured Heads to PAX South 2019!
REVIEW | The Batman Who Laughs – #1
Sub Cultured is Heading to DakuCon 2018!
Every year my inner gamer just about yodels during this 3-day industry show. Rumors are either brought to fruition or are laid to rest (for another year anyway), and I can plan my gaming budget for the future.
Day one and two had some major reveals, some really intense teasers, and I wanted to share with you guys what games I am personally most excited for. Let’s break this down by conference!!
Microsoft
*Evolve
First up for me is Turtle Rock/2K’s Monster Hunter look-a-like Evolve.
I love games where you can cooperatively take down a massive creature, so pair that with insane gameplay and graphics, and I’m basically sold. They had a huge presence at PAX, and I’ve been following it for a few months, so it’s definitely high on my list.
*Dragon Age: Inquisition
I’ve been a sucker for the Dragon Age games, and Dragon Age: Inquisition looks even more jaw dropping. This installment looks a lot more haunting, a lot more scary (which might just be me), but the DRAGONS. Character design has always been pretty, but just the details on the armor is kinda breathtaking!!
*Ori and the Blind Forest
This is one that kinda caught me off guard, and finishes my Microsoft list. It’s absolutely gorgeous looking, and while not too much of the story is really hinted at, I kinda wanna play on the sole fact that it is beautiful. It’s called Ori and the Blind Forest and it’s from Moon Studios. The only problem is, I am terrified of owls, so we shall see how it goes, ha ha ha.
EA
*Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront. I don’t even know what to say, cause I’m fucking rendered speechless, and in tears. You get to FIGHT on different PLANETS on the side of the Rebellion, or the Empire WITH BETTER GRAPHICS!!!! YOU GUYS!!!!
Ubisoft
I could care less. Maybe Colby has something for ya, cause I’m the only person apparently not hyped for any of the titles, which include Valiant Hearts, Rainbow Six Siege , and I forgot what else…Mirror’s Edge 2? You know how you can get my interest, Ubisoft? How about making your main protagonist in Assassin’s Creed: Unity a woman? Like….Charlotte Corday instead of Scruffy White Guy #5.
Sony
*The Order: 1886
I love Action/Adventure platformers, and this one pits an alternate London band of “knights” against supernatural creatures. It was teased at last year’s E3, and seeing a full length trailer basically made me need a fresh pair of underwear. It’s a PS4 exclusive, and definitely one at the top of my list, thanks to the sort of Resident Evil vibe this trailer gives off!
*Bloodborne
Project Beast was revealed to be Bloodborne, a horrific, squelching sounding tease of a game, but oh my goodness, I cannot wait to slice open weird things!! I didn’t hear quite as much buzz about it, but maybe that’s because people were still reeling from other announcements?
*Abzu
80% of my hype for this game is due to the fact you can apparently swim alongside whales. Seriously. Aside from aforementioned whales, the graphics could definitely look a bit better, but it’s just a trailer, and I highly doubt the makers of Journey (which, if you have not played, PLAY IT) would disappoint.
*Batman: Arkham Knight
I’m not sure if I’m more turned on by the new Batmobile or Kevin Conroy’s dulcet voice just flowing over the body like a tub of dark chocolate…The newest Batman game is set to surpass Batman: Arkham City, and Rocksteady is setting the bar higher and higher. I loved how the developer described the surprise cameo as a realization of their (and I suppose ours if we were mid-fight) worst fear. Check the trailer to see what I mean!
Nintendo
*Legend of Zelda Wii U
Confession: I am not the biggest LoZ fan, more of a casual observer/player of the franchise, but this…this made me want to cry from how pretty it is! Couple with that with the rumors floating around that this is Zelda we will be playing as instead of Link, and color me intrigued. Oh yeah, and this game is apparently open world, which is a giant step away from standard linear gameplay, Wind Waker aside.
So there you have it! I’m incredibly stoked for a lot of the titles out in 2015 and 2016, but I want to know what made YOU excited!!! Tell me, or tweet them to me @ladyvader99!! LET’S ARGUE OR SQUEAL OVER VIDEO GAMES!
REVIEW | Salt and Sanctuary
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
REVIEW | Spider-Man PS4
Review | Re-Exploring No Man’s Sky Next
REVIEW | Downward Spiral: Horus Station
Here’s a run down of the big announcements from Microsoft at E3 2014.
Call of Duty: Advance Warfare
Microsoft started off with one of the staples people expect at a Microsoft presser, the new Call of Duty. And of course it started with something going wrong, explosions, and the protagonist’s vision going blurry.
So it’s basically the same thing as last year.
You now have rockets in your boots to slow your descent when falling and provide a double jump, your allies drop in large bods, and there’s a battle mech walking around. Are we sure this isn’t Call of Duty: Titanfall?
Drones are swarming about and it looks really cool, especially if you’ve researched swarm theory.
Other than that, it’s just a standard Call of Duty.
Assassin’s Creed Unity
Assassin’s Creed Unity takes place during the French Revolution. Before today, that’s about all we knew about the game. We still know very little about the story, but huge new feature was revealed at the Microsoft presser – four player co op. That’s right, you and three friends/strangers can take control of a group of assassins to take down targets as a group. You can easily tell your assassin friends by the icons over their heads, and it seems like a fresh opportunity to have a fun, group experience with Assassin’s Creed without having to kill each other.
Of course, that is if your friends are intelligent enough to not ruin it for you (not likely).
Sunset Overdrive
And just when you thought new life couldn’t be breathed into much more, Sunset Overdrive comes in and skewers modern warfare games while delivering fun, cartoony gameplay all at the same time. In this game, you take control of one of the last surviving humans after a disastrous energy drink transforms millions into monsters. You’ll be fighting off bandits and hoards of monsters while grinding on rails, bouncing off roofs, and looking good while you do it.
Remember how fresh TF2 felt when it was first introduced ten years ago? Think that and you’re on the right path. Though the movement looks a little slower than I’d like and it seems nowhere near close to done, it looks interesting enough to keep a close eye on.
Dead Rising DLC
Though there isn’t much to tell here, I just thought this was hilarious. The new Dead Rising DLC allows you to take control of all the Dead Rising protags who cosplay as other characters doing arcade-style minigames. The name of the DLC?
Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus Alpha.
Glad to see a self-referential skewer at their money grab expansions.
Fable Legends
A new Fable game is coming and it seems to be abandoning the narrative structure of previous entries. This time, instead of building a character from the ground up, you’ll take control of one of four heroes that are questing together. You can also play as a “dungeon master” type character who throws monsters and traps at the adventurers. It’s a wild departure from the traditional structure, but it looks interesting. Think Dungeonland, but expanded.
Project Spark
Project Spark showed off a plethora of creators and worlds. Nothing terribly new, except that they’re adding space stuff and Conker from Conker’s Bad Fur Day, which is bittersweet. Why not just a new game instead of making him promote another title out of nowhere? Bleh.
Ori and the Blind Forest
Child of Light enchanted gamers with its visuals and this game looks to follow in step with that. Looks like two creature friends who meet by chance and help each other out, so maybe a platformer/puzzle game? It also looks like it’ll make you cry. I teared up in the trailer alone. Very excited about this one.
Halo: Master Chief Collection
Well are you happy now, Halo fans? You complain long and loudly enough and 343 Studios will listen. They’re now releasing the four numbered Halo games all on one disk! Halo 1-4 including their multiplayer components is coming to Xbox One. Halo 2 is also getting the anniversary edition-treatment that Halo 1 got. They’re also claiming 1080p and 60fps for the games and their multiplayer plus dedicated servers. Also there will be a Halo 5: Guardians demo later this year, so that’s neat.
Inside
Limbo developer Playdead is working on a new titled called Inside. It looks to be in the same exploration/platformer genre, but this time with color. Color me interested.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
The new Tomb Raider game seems to explore the PTSD and road to recovery for Lara after what happened in the previous game. Also she shot a dude with a bow and arrow, which is pretty badass. Also I distinctly remember seeing some tombs.
The Division
I’ve been anxiously awaiting new details about this game since last year. It still looks great and though they didn’t show off many new features, the gameplay looks to be in tact since last year’s demonstration. A team of 4, one person being on a drone, made their way across a city, showing off drop in/drop out coop, and the interesting drone features. At one point our player 1 shot a guy through some paint cans and the paint splashed pretty realistically, which I thought was a nice touch.
No real details on it yet, but the demo is still looking promising.
Scalebound
Platinum games is making a game which looks kinda like monster hunter, but with a mount and the main character acted like Dante from the new DMC. Very little detail beyond a prerendered cinematic, but I’ll be watching with wary hesitation.
Crackdown
It’s been a long while since Crackdown was on the scene, but diehard fans got their wish today when a new iteration in the series was revealed. Did it consist of putting a vehicle full of bombs into a building, blowing it up, and making the top of the building hit another building just to kill a guy on the top floor, causing millions of dollars in collateral damage and injuring/killing thousands? Yes. That’s Crackdown. Prepare yourselves.
Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
PAX South 2019: Devil May Cry 5, Young Souls, Magequit
Nan Desu Kan 2018 Photo Gallery
Will the latest entry in the Battlefield series be the best, or has it finally shriveled in quality?
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.REVIEW | Salt and Sanctuary
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
REVIEW | Spider-Man PS4
Review | Re-Exploring No Man’s Sky Next
