Well E3 has come and gone and there were some announcements that surprised me and some leaving me feeling a bit underwhelmed. I wont point any fingers cough cough Nintendo cough. Sony and Microsoft did have some interesting things to show but this year I was hoping Nintendo would carry the conference but it was the most lackluster presentation. Sony really blew me away with there next game coming from the makers of Heavy Rain called Beyond. I'm especially looking forward to this title due to the lead character choice who is none other than Ellen Page the actress. She has never disappointed in a live action role so I'm hoping she will bring some spot acting to this title and if so may open the door for more big name actors/actresses having lead roles in video games which is always great. Another game standing out that I thought had a good showing would be the Tomb Raider reboot. We haven't seen Laura Croft in over a decade and her comeback outing was nothing short of awesome. It seems like the weapon of the year is going to be the bow and arrow and you better bet that Laura has one as well. Of course best in show, at least for me is going to be from Naughty Dog's The Last of Us which reminds me a lot of Uncharted which is not a bad thing by any means. The Last of Us also looks to be bringing back true survival horror, something we have been missing ever since the original Resident Evil's on the 1st generation PSX.
Microsoft I say would be next in line with the focus being on a more social and entertainment driven console for the future, although they did have some cool games slated for 2013 also. Xbox Smartglass would have to be there biggest announcement where Microsoft claims to have plans to make the Xbox the best entertainment console to date. Smartglass will allow users to interact with contact they see on the big screen with either a tablet or a smartphone in real time. Now this sounds all great and everything but I personally do not think this will be that great of an innovation. If you look back to augmented information with Blu Rays how well has thought caught on? When was the last time you used any of the interactive features on a Blu Ray or a DVD that "connected" you to extra info as you watch a movie? I don't want any of that crap I just want to kick back and watch a movie, but to each his own. They also did say some more content providers will be coming to the Xbox as well, but what about the games? Microsoft announced some advancements with sport titles and the Kinect. But who could forget Halo 4? I could I'm not looking forward to this release at all since the rights are no longer with Bungie and now with 343 industries.
Bringing in the rear of the conference is good ol' Nintendo. Now you would think being the only vendor with some hardware announcements they wold have stolen the show but as I hinted to earlier they did not wow me in any way. Now I'll admit I was expecting a bit much from Nintendo so my critique may come as a bit harsh but the same problem that plagued the Wii looks like it might be taking the down the Wii U already, No 3rd party support from developers. Yeah there were the fun motion games at first but after a while it was just wash rinse and repeat, move the controller it moves the finger yada yada. I want the same games offered on the PS3 and Xbox 360 but that never came, yes the system was a bit behind those just mentioned but they had a chance to make a so called next gen console and unfortunately I think they fell short again. Now let me stop bashing Nintendo because there were some great things shown off like the hardware, now it was not what I wanted but its a step in the right direction for Nintendo bringing HD gaming to the company. Lego City Undercover I would say was the best thing from Nintendo other than the console announcement. I guess we will have to wait how Nintendo will change the way we game because we have to wait to find out how for another week.
There were also some noteworthy gaming releases such as Assassins Creed, Call of duty, Pikmin, and Watch Dogs the game of show for me. I am so excited for this game because its a mix of Blade Runner and I would say Mass Effect. I cannot wait at all for this game nor all the other games set to release in 2013. So did the show disappoint you, were you satisfied? Leave your comments below
