Life Got Crazy

After posting a big life update on May 20^th, everything just seemed to happen all at once. 

I drove three hours north to write songs with my friend. Then there was LOGfest the next weekend. Met Abe Lincoln. Big music festival another one of my friends runs. My tire went flat from a nail. Then there was E3 week, which is nerd funland.

Then my Mac died and I had to buy a new PC. Then there was Comic Con. Also, I did a 24/hour new play festival called The Identity Show with my theatre group called PRIME. Oh, and I got offered (and I accepted) a new job teaching English, setting up a recording studio, and doing technical theatre in STL. So, now, I’m planning a move across the river (I’m in Illinois), lessons for the next school year, and I have to talk to the Missouri education system to get my license transferred.

Whew. 

My life has been extremely busy, and now I’m about to go through a massive life change. New job, new apartment, new life. It’s crazy atm.

Here are a few pics from the madness (enjoy!): 

Who won E3 2016?

tl;dr: Sony > Bethesda > Ubisoft > EA > Microsoft > Nintendo

Before I begin, I want to give a big shout out to IGN for always having an awesome stream each year, packed with content. It really makes my day to watch with you all and listen to the before and after show commentaries. Thanks! Keep it up!

Nintendo had amiibo to look at. Zelda looks like if The Witcher 3 got stripped of gameplay and had cartoon graphics. E3 Rating: 1/10

The only Microsoft exclusive I’m interested in is Cuphead. That game looks amazing. Although, I must give MS credit for bring Gwent on stage (I will be buying it for PS4). Lots of stuff that many people will enjoy, not a lot of stuff for me (I don’t like shooters). E3 Rating: 7/10

EA has Mass Effect Andromeda. I cannot wait to get back into that universe. E3 Rating: 7.5/10

The Fractured, But Whole is a South Park game from Ubisoft, and the presentation made me legit laugh out loud. The whole thing where Cartman asks you to sit and then says, “Not there.” Too funny! Watch Dogs 2 looks fun as well. The host, Aisha Tyler is great and weird. E3 Rating: 8/10

Bethesda doesn’t need to do much to make me happy. Skyrim Remastered and Nuka World + Build-your-own Vault DLC is all I needed to wow me. The other games weren’t for me, but were impressive nonetheless. I really want to watch someone else play Prey. Also, I want to play Fallout 4 in VR (I hope it comes to PSVR!). E3 Rating: 9/10

Sony is where E3 was at. Unveiling a Spiderman game that actually looks like they’re putting effort into it is awesome. Horizon: Zero Dawn look inventive and crazy fun. I’m also very excited about Playstation’s VR. Batman in VR, Star Wars in VR. Amazing. E3 Rating: 9/10

So, in my opinion (which is my own, and it’s fine that yours is different)….

Sony wins E3

At this show….

Horizon: Zero Dawn wins as game of the show

H: ZD is my pick this year because it just looks so creative. I want to battle robot dinos in a post-apocalyptic open world with futuristic cave man weapons! Yes! I can’t wait to play this one.

Past Years:

2015

2014 thoughts and the GOTS

Who won E3 2015?

I always judge who wins E3 by the number of games I actually would be willing to play at each company’s conference.

I would play, from Microsoft’s conference:
Cuphead

Rare’s Game Collection

Fallout 4

I would play, from Nintendo’s conference:
Super Mario Maker

I would play, from EA’s conference:
Star Wars Battlefront

Mass Effect: Andromeda

I would play, from Square Enix’s conference:

N/A

I would play, from Ubisoft’s conference:
South Park RPG

I would play, from Bethesda’s conference:
Fallout 4

Fallout Shelter

I would play, from Sony’s conference:
No Man’s Sky

Star Wars Battlefront

Batman: Arkham Knight

Uncharted 4

Horizon

Now, I know that Playstation will have Fallout 4 and Microsoft will have Star Wars Battlefront, however my list is based on what games were shown at each conference.

I also should state that I’m not a fan of shooters, generally. Definitely not ultra-violent action shooters like Doom or Gears of War. They’re just not for me. Also, I totally missed the PC conference. Oops.

So, in my opinion (which is my own, and it’s fine that yours is different)….

Sony wins E3

At this show….

Fallout 4 wins as best game

Random thoughts:

I am most excited about building my own base in Fallout 4. I know I will sink 100 hours into making my fortress perfect. I am sad that PC mods will only come to Xbox, but I understand. Besides, I usually move on to my next game by the end of the DLC patches.

All I wanted from the Nintendo conference was more Mario Kart 8 DLC, more Smash DLC, and more Splatoon DLC. I didn’t get any of that during the conference. Mario Maker looks wicked awesome, but nothing else looked fun. The Animal Crossing board game and the fake-Metroid soccer game looked awful.

I was disappointed to see that Rare is making a pirate game. I want Banjo back. Nothing on Xbox appealed to me. Why don’t they make more than shooters for that system?

Media Molecule’s new game looks weird. I love MM and LittleBIGPlanet, but I don’t think I’d want to play the dreaming game. I’m glad they’re experimenting and doing the games they want to do, though. They’re a hugely imaginative company.   

That’s it. Not my favorite E3, but Fallout 4 is going to be amazing.

MY GAME OF E3 2014

No Man's Sky

This game looks STUNNING. Like what Spore should have been. I love open worlds... try open universe. I love the concept that there's a very tiny chance to encounter other players online, since the universe is so big. I love that dinosaurs exist. I love the art direction and the use of color. I love the science fiction, new frontier. I love the community exploration and discovery aspects. I love that you share your discoveries with everyone that is playing. I just cannot wait to purchase this game. I hope it lives up to what they're showing. Spore, honestly, did not... so I'm hoping this will be the fulfillment of universal exploration I've been wanting. Awesome show, Hello Games. I wish you guys the best of luck!

My E3 2014 thoughts

Microsoft / Xbox One

#e3 I hate #Xbox as a brand because it never has any games with guns or shooting #XboxE3 #XboxOne
— Harrison Aye (@oxyborb) June 9, 2014

I was just joking about hating Xbox as a brand. I love all things video game, and if I could afford to have an Xbox One, I would enjoy it thoroughly. However, one thing is clear: The Xbox is a shooter machine. There were too many games at the conference that were first-person shooters, and that bores me. While I enjoy a gritty shooter once and a while, I must stress that once and a while means not very often. I didn’t see a single shooter game at the Xbox conference that I would bother to play. It’s just not my thing. I also don’t enjoy snarky protagonists for the fantasy genre. I feel like fantasy with over-the-top snark just makes me feel like I’m being made fun of, and as a nerd, I just don’t want that while I’m trying to immerse myself in a fantasy world. The Witcher looked awesome though. The game that most intrigued me was that new one by the guy who did Limbo. That one, yeah. Looked fun, but not enough to make me want an XB1. The Halo collection looks rad. I love Halo, and I haven’t played a Halo game since having a roommate in college.

Sony / Playstation

#Sony had a great show, though the pacing could have been tightened. I love how #SonyE3 has more than just shooters #E3
— Harrison Aye (@oxyborb) June 10, 2014

The show was slow moving, and the speakers were not amazing at public speaking, but the games were good. I love Infamous, so more content for that brand is a +. I really do prefer Sony just because there are less shooters and more creative/weird styles of games. A word on LittleBIGPlanet 3: When LBP2 came out, I wasn’t ready for it. There wasn’t a big enough gap between games for me to want to play it. I bought it, but got bored because I just wasn’t ready for a new game. That said, I’m still not ready. If LittleBIGPlanet 2 would have been announced yesterday, I would be overwhelmed with hype. I would play it like mad, but not 3. I’m still burned out from LBP2, which I was still burned out from 1. I want a bigger gap of time between LBP games. There are too many of them. I think my favorite game from Sony was that open-universe colorful one with the spaceship. Whatever that was called. At first I thought I was looking at Spore 2. I wonder what the objective to that game is. I cannot wait to find out! Other than that, Destiny, Batman, and Uncharted all look amazing.

Ubisoft / EA 

Assassin’s Creed looks amazing (although I wish it were Black Flag 2 instead) and I cannot wait to purchase and play Star Wars: Battlefront.

Nintendo / Wii U / 3DS

#PacMan in #SmashBros is amazing. #e3
— Harrison Aye (@oxyborb) June 11, 2014

I love how weird Nintendo is. Splatoon looks creative, even if I don’t want to buy it. Maybe if there are more levels. Smash Bros. 4 looks incredible. Paluntena, Mii Fighter, and Pac-Man are wonderful additions. I am so glad they’re using the classic Pac-Man look instead of the newer ones where his eyes are humanlike. I won’t be truly happy with the roster until I see Ice Climbers return. The Smash Invitational was incredible. One of the coolest things I’ve ever seen Nintendo do. Using Robot Chicken to keep the event interesting was clever. Zelda, on the other hand, does not interest me in the slightest. Yes, it’s because of the art style. Last E3 they teased me with realistic Link, and this year they gave me cartoon Link. I’m sorry, I just don’t like cartoon Link. I want Zelda to be more like Skyrim, not more like Mario. The new Toad puzzle game looks fun. Mario Maker looks limited to the first Mario game, and that bores me. I wish they had based Mario Maker on SMB3. There’s just more enemies, powerups, etc. The one thing that scares me for Nintendo is that all of the new exciting games seem to be coming in 2015.

Overall: 

Good games, but nothing that really makes me drool.

 

WHERE IS FALLOUT 4?????