Who are you, and what have you done with Jack Tretton?
Sony’s E3 press conference Monday night was striking for a lot of reasons, but the greatest contrast of all wasn’t between Sony and Microsoft. It was between Sony and itself.
The power of hope.
E3 is on the horizon, and as usual, we are buzzing. This year in particular should be huge. With two brand new consoles on the way and the promise of rescue titles for the Wii U, there’s a lot to be excited about. That said, history proves that things could easily go awry. Despite this, part of what makes E3 so great is the hope that comes along with speculation leading up to the show. I for one am pretty optimistic for this E3. Here are some of my hopes for E3 2013:
More of a Descension than Ascension.
God of War: Ascension is a game that I had a hard time getting excited for. For me, God of War 3, capped off the saga of Kratos on the right note. It was bittersweet to see the story end, but it did so on an epic (and violent) note. Instead of the series continuing with a new protagonist or mythology, we have a prequel to a story that I felt pretty comfortable with already. Ascension ends up being a sadly mediocre game, and I expected more.
This generation has gone on so long, people have forgotten what to expect from next gen!
Now that Microsoft has revealed the Xbox One, the stage is finally set and all the players have taken their places. I already talked about how excited I am at the prospect of a new knockdown, drag out console war, and it’s already begun thanks to some snarky comments by Sony on the big Xbox day. In just a matter of months, gamers will either be voting for their console champion of choice or taking a Switzerland approach and waiting on the sidelines to see who comes out on top. With all of this in mind, I think it’s important to talk about this next generation, and what it means to you as a gamer.
Yeah, E3 is becoming a dinosaur, but it can become something new and important.
Nintendo made waves in the gaming industry recently when they announced that they wouldn’t be participating in a traditional press conference at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. Right off the bat, people started in with the doom and gloom. Oh, Nintendo is fading fast! Nintendo doesn’t have anything to show! Rhetoric like this was prominent --as was talk that the entire E3 conference is a dinosaur -- and perhaps Nintendo is reading the writing on the wall and is beginning to part ways with the trade show. This sentiment has been circulating for years, and even though I believe that E3 is vital to the gaming industry, it’s high time that the show evolved.
Deathstroke, and an Unrefined Batman take Center Stage
Gameinformer has just revealed their May cover which exposes a prequel to the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham games, titled Batman: Arkham Origins. Developed by WB Montreal, Arkham Origins promises a tale of a young, and learning Batman who will face off against some of his most infamous enemies, including Slade Wilson (aka Deathstroke), who will be making his debut appearance.
We think the PS4 sucks...NOT!
Hello again! This week on Nerds Without Pants Julian and Patrick give all of their love to the PlayStation 4. There’s been a ton of negative talk swirling around the new Sony console, and the Pantsless Ones bring a refreshing amount of positive vibes to the discussion. But before that—games!
The crystal began shedding its light silently....
Welcome to the final part of PixlBit’s comprehensive look at the Final Fantasy series. In our last installment, we went through the PlayStation 2 era, which took the series into uncharted territory, for better or worse. This time, we look at the most recent Final Fantasy games, which have gone on to become the most divisive and controversial games in the series so far. Join us as we explore the Seventh Generation years!
Final Fantasy gains a voice, and faith in the series begins to waver for the first time.
Welcome to the fourth part of our long look at the Final Fantasy series, in celebration of its 25th anniversary. In our last installment, we talked about how Square stunned the gaming world by leaving their longtime home of Nintendo platforms for the shiny new world of CD technology with Sony's PlayStation. This time, we look at the series in its somewhat shaky transition to voice acting, a controversial but successful transition into the online space, and the first game in the series to have real problems behind the scenes.
