So I just realized that in a little over a month E3 will be upon us again. There's been a little talk here and there about what to expect but I think it will be completely crazy this year. I've heard that Microsoft is really going to be showing off even more games, which is nuts as they already have a number of holdovers from last year that still haven't come out so it'll be interesting to see where they are at. Sony will definitely provide more insight into Morpheus (the VR for PS4) as well as after last weeks "accidental" unlocking of most PSX and PSP games for the Vita many have rumoured that they will announce Vita TV for the West, for 99.99 and have all the games available for it that haven't been thus far. Also, hopefully they will announce some new games and at least have some new footage for some exclusives. Not that exclusives are the be all and end all, but Microsoft definitely has been showing what they did with their billion dollars they paid for exclusives. Hopefully Sony will have much to show.
As for Nintendo, well of course this is going to be the most interesting. After last years decidedly meagre showing and the fact that there is still not much known in regards to what is coming out later in the year, hopefully Nintendo will do a presentation and have a big showing there. Tomodachi Life comes out just before E3, and then Smash Bros for 3DS comes out this summer, outside of that, not much is known for the 3DS. For the Wii U, well Mario Kart comes out just before E3, and Smash Bros won't be out until November (which is my prediction). Otherwise there is Bayonetta 2, Yarn Yoshi, Hyrule Warriors more than likely coming this year, with X maybe this year and Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensai still not coming till maybe next year.
The incredibly hilarious Mega64 video showcasing Nintendo's E3 plans.
They just announced as well that they will be doing an online presentation again much like last year, which is somewhat troublesome, but again is how Nintendo is choosing to do things. Hopefully they will still get journalists to cover it as much as the other big press conferences, but really, we all just want to see what Zelda U is going to look like. It's a little over a month away and I seriously can't wait, best time of the year.
I write a lot about Nintendo on here, because, well I am a huge fan. I have been playing Nintendo games for a quarter of a century so there is a lot of history here. I have made it known that I love my Wii U and wish there was more support for it. Lately I have been playing my PS4 a bit more, but that has been mainly thanks to school eating up most of my time and only having time here or there to spend on games like inFAMOUS Second Son and Resogun.
Mario Kart 8.
However that has been changing. I have been embracing the indies on the Wii U more and more and have been enjoying some of the titles on the system. I finally got my hands on DuckTales which brings me back of course to the old NES days. I also picked up Unepic which is a more rpg heavy Castlevania type game that uses the gamepad in really interesting and smart ways, and is super tough. Plus, Child of Light comes out next week, and while it will be on most systems I am planning on getting it for Wii U, just because I love playing on the Gamepad.
Child of Light from Ubisoft.
There are even more games coming, slowly but surely. Mario Kart 8 is out in just over a month. Bayonetta 2 is probably going to be out this summer, as well as potentially X, Yarn Yoshi, Hyrule Warriors and of course Super Smash Bros, which will be out in November (that's my guess anyways). There are also over 50 more indie games on the way thanks to the Wii U and it's support for Unity, which is also good news, and some interesting things like Shovel Knight are coming.
Tomodachi Life from Nintendo.
The 3DS of course is still killing it, and I really don't need to say more than the Pokemon games selling over 12 million units, and price cuts on the key 5 Mario games due to them selling as much as the Pokemon games. Also, Tomodachi Life has been confirmed for the 3DS and is coming in June as well, and man that game looks amazing and ridiculous. There are also a ton of great smaller titles for the 3DS and Nintendo's first attempts at free-to-play are also of note. The 3DS is continuing to exert dominance in the handheld space even with the rise of mobile gaming.
Mario Kart 8 footage from Nintendo.
So what is going to happen next for Nintendo? Well, I feel that once Mario Kart is closer to launch there will be a huge marketing push and hopefully new interest in the system. Hopefully Nintendo starts doing a better job at explaining what it is and what it can do. Also, later on in the year there will be a big push with Smash Bros coming and hopefully the official announcement of the new Legend of Zelda and perhaps another big title. There is also however the Quality of Life "system" that they are working on and the next handheld, which I am sure will be shown later this year as well. I think that the Wii U will still do better than the Gamecube but probably not by much. I love the system and hopefully some support starts to show up soon though.
So I am currently deep in the heart of paper writing season, followed by finals, so what I am playing on my PS4 is pretty limited (I did however just finish Thomas Was Alone and am now playing Fez on my Vita). I have spent a bit of time though with a few new games and wanted to share some thoughts.
inFAMOUS Second Son
This is the game that I got a PS4 for. I love the other 2 inFAMOUS games and love the somewhat dark superhero world that Sucker Punch has created. So far I have enjoyed the variety in conduit powers that you can get, and how gorgeous the game is. I'm still not super sold on Delsin as a lead, and miss Cole and Zeke, but so far it hasn't been so bad. The gameplay more than makes up for it. Again though, this game is so pretty and a definite showcase for the PS4.
Fez
I have played a little bit of this on my PS4 but mostly on my Vita. On the PS4 it looks really sharp and the colours are so crisp. The gameplay is as good as it was on the 360, and apparently the framerate is much better on this. We will see so far, but for now it's been great and another great addition to the PS4 library.
Mercenary Kings
This was one that I was really pumped up on, especially as I love the character design/ art style of the guys behind the Scott Pilgrim game. It's essentially Contra mixed with Monster Hunter. Side-scrolling shooter and when you kill things you get items that you can craft into new weapons, armour, etc. I have to say I like it, and want to play more multiplayer of it, but after playing TowerFall this game seems really sluggish, and I hate that you can't shoot diagonally. It's a bit of a letdown but I'm sure that playing it more I'll get used to it.
Anyways, back to work, look for my TowerFall review in the days to come over on Recultured.
