Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 148

Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ: The Plot is Beginning!

While I consider Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ to be a pretty fun game, the story has been somewhat lacking.

If you, like me, are frustrated with the tedious mission-to-mission stories and have clung to the few scattered pieces of the overall plot, don’t worry. The major plot of Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ is beginning!

Yesterday, the official Twitter account for the game sent out a reminder about the survey they’ve issued to players. If you haven’t taken your survey, do so. Not only can you give your feedback on the game, but you’ll also get 600 jewels for taking it.

But what was even more interesting was that the Tweet included a picture of a scene you might remember from the Kingdom Hearts 2.8 trailer featuring Ephemera (whose voice actor in χ Back Cover also voiced Mikleo in Tales of Zestiria).

Emphemera is one of the original characters of Unchained χ. While that scene itself won’t appear in the North American Unchained χ yet, today’s story update does include Ephemera!

Or… Ephemer, as his name seems to be localized.

Ephemera or Ephemer aside, we now have missions 351-375, where we’ll see another focus on the plot. In particular, they should answer questions about canon players have had. (Like why certain things exist when they shouldn’t yet.)

Best of all, we’re marching toward when the plot really kicks in. The title card appears in Mission 400. Yes, we’re sort of still in the prologue.

Unchained χ may not have the strongest plot so far, but it should take us to some interesting places soon. I’m excited!

Have you been playing Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ? Are you looking forward to the arrival of the actual plot? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ: The Plot is Beginning! appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Steins;Gate is One of the Best Games I’ve Ever Read

When I got my PlayStation Vita, one of the first games I bought was Steins;Gate.

Steins;Gate (which is also available for the PlayStation 3 and PC, although the PC localization is older) was described to me as a visual novel about a self-proclaimed mad scientist. Since I love mad scientists, that was enough to catch my interest.

It could have lingered in my backlog of doom, but after I got it, the Vita subreddit had a post encouraging people to play one hour of an unplayed Vita game and report back with their impressions.

I chose Steins;Gate. One hour was about enough to get me through the prologue, and I was hooked.

Before we get into the review proper, here are a few basic things you should know about Steins;Gate:

It’s about time travel, and includes discussions of the theories, paradoxes, and science behind it.
Visual novels aren’t short. Steins;Gate took me about 30 hours to complete everything.
When I say “play,” I really mean “read.” There are small gameplay elements, but you mainly read Steins;Gate.

Sound good? Then keep going, because Steins;Gate is a fantastic read.

The main protagonist, Okabe Rintaro, is indeed a self-proclaimed mad scientist (and he prefers to be called Hououin Kyouma) who claims a sinister Organization is out to get him and that he intends to bring chaos to the world.

I found his mad scientist act funny and endearing. However, you might find it irritating, especially with his accompanying arrogance. However, even if his attitude bothers you, don’t give up. Okabe is a nicer person than he initially seems, he undergoes excellent character development throughout the visual novel, and he actually has a good reason for being “Hououin Kyouma.”

Instead of dialogue options, like many visual novels have, Steins;Gate lets you answer emails Okabe receives. You have a choice of phrases to respond to, although you don’t get to see the responses themselves until he replies. Different email branches lead to trophies, teach you more about the characters, or put you on the path to the True Ending.

Okabe runs a “laboratory” with his friends Daru (a hacker and otaku) and Mayuri (a ditzy cosplay enthusiast), and one of their inventions accidentally leads them to discover time travel technology.

More characters become involved with the lab as the story continues, most notably the genius researcher Kurisu. As they delve into the secrets of time travel, they get mixed up in a conspiracy led by SERN (i.e., CERN).

There are many layers to Steins;Gate’s writing. Sometimes it is hilarious, between Okabe’s quirks and the many wacky characters he knows (with occasional moments of sexual humor, usually led by Daru, who is an unabashed pervert).

Other times, it’s scientific. It takes the time to analyze the theories of time travel and why they’re impossible, and later explain the scientific principles behind its own time travel.

If you love talking about time travel, these sections will delight you. And if you don’t, don’t worry. Someone like Daru or Mayuri inevitably asks for the explanation to be framed in less scientific terms.

And other times, Steins;Gate is intense.

I spent the start of Steins;Gate interested in the science and conspiracy and enjoying what seemed to be a lighthearted story with some darker elements. Then I hit the turning point, and I was glued to the screen in tense anticipation.

From then on, it was a thrilling and emotional ride. When Steins;Gate drops its silliness for seriousness, it doesn’t pull any punches.

The intensity of its themes is matched by the quality of its writing, which is why I call it one of the best games I’ve ever read. It is incredibly well-written and caught me up in the struggles of its characters more than I expected. This is most easily seen in its multiple endings, each of which is satisfying and emotional in its own way.

Steins;Gate has 6 different endings. Most of these are determined by choices you make at key points during the story. On your first playthrough, it doesn’t make these choices apparent. You, like me, will probably get the disturbing ending achieved early on if you make no choices.

Subsequent playthroughs (even if you just reload your save after reaching any one ending) make it clearer. A special icon appears when you can take certain actions.

Fortunately, it’s easy to replay for different endings (and trophies). Steins;Gate includes a “skip” feature that speeds through the story, stopping whenever you reach new content or a phone trigger.

The one thing I’d criticize about it is that the True Ending almost requires you to follow a guide, since it relies on you picking the correct responses across multiple emails. Nevertheless, it is definitely worth it. The True Ending brings everything together in such a way it made me realize just how well-written this story is.

It was an epic and entertaining ride, and I’m thrilled Steins;Gate 0 is being localized. There’s so much more we could talk about, but it’s better you experience it for yourself.

So while we wait for the sequel, check out Steins;Gate for the Vita, PS3, or PC. (If you prefer digital games, you’re in luck, because Steins;Gate is on sale right now on PSN.)

Thoughts on Steins;Gate? Questions? Let me know in the comments.

El Psy Kongroo.

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Steins;Gate is One of the Best Games I’ve Ever Read appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

New Professor Layton Game Confirmed

I’d planned to review Steins;Gate today (short version: it’s fantastic, buy it), but my review will have to wait. We’ve got exciting news to discuss.

A new Professor Layton game is coming!

And no, I don’t mean Layton 7. This is a true Layton game.

It will be announced at Level-5 Vision 2016, on July 27, but CEO Akihiro Hino gave a sneak peek of the new Professor Layton game, as well as the new Inazuma Eleven game.

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, which was great, is the final game starring Professor Layton himself. As such, this game will have a new protagonist.

Hino didn’t give any details about the new protagonist except to confirm it isn’t Alfendi Layton. (At least they remember he exists… Layton Brothers 2 when?)

Fans have often thought Luke or Emmy might carry on the series. However, it could be someone entirely new.

Hino shared several pieces of art for the new game, including character sketches and locations.

You can check out all the pictures over at Gematsu.

I’m thrilled to hear the main Professor Layton series isn’t finished for good, and I can’t wait until we get new details next month. Who do you think the new protagonist will be? Are you excited for a new Professor Layton game?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post New Professor Layton Game Confirmed appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Color Splash and the Future of Paper Mario

Paper Mario: Color Splash…

…

Can we talk about The Witcher again instead? No? Fine…

When Paper Mario: Color Splash was announced, it filled me with dread because of its resemblance to Sticker Star.

Let’s get one thing out of the way. I don’t hate it just because it isn’t like the original Paper Mario games.

I’d be thrilled if Color Splash looked like The Thousand-Year Door 2. I’d be thrilled if it looked like Super Paper Mario 2. Unfortunately, it looks like Sticker Star 2, and I considered Sticker Star a bad game in general.

Color Splash was one of the games shown by Nintendo Treehouse at E3 this year.

First, I’ll give it some credit. Visually, it’s great. I like Color Splash’s aesthetic.

It also doesn’t look like it has limited inventory space for cards. If you can carry as many cards as you want, that is a major improvement over Sticker Star.

However, the basic Sticker Star elements appear to be in full force: cards & paint work together to take the place of stickers, battles don’t award you experience, there are a lot of Toads instead of original characters, and Thing Cards are the equivalent of Thing Stickers to be used in puzzles and against puzzle bosses.

This doesn’t have to be terrible. Again, if the inventory isn’t limited, it’ll take away a lot of the frustration those puzzles caused. As long as the solutions are intuitive (see, the fire extinguisher makes sense) or at least hinted at, Color Splash could sidestep one of my major issues with Sticker Star.

But what about the others? It is not an RPG. Worse, GameXplain conducted an interview with the assistant producer that suggests Paper Mario will never be an RPG series again.

I don’t understand what’s wrong with having two Mario RPG series. Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi, while similar, have very distinct feels. And since Mario & Luigi has also been handheld, this doesn’t do much for console players who want a Mario RPG…

Now let’s consider the matter of Color Splash’s story. In that interview, she was concerned about giving spoilers. That’s a good sign! …Assuming it’s a legitimate concern, that is. Paper Mario: Color Splash claims to be a mystery, so I’d like to see actual mystery elements in it, along with interesting characters.

(The paint bucket needs to be more than Color Splash’s Kersti, and he can’t be the only character.)

If Color Splash has a decent story and fixes Sticker Star’s gameplay issues, maybe I’ll give it a chance. Maybe. For now, I’m not convinced. Either way, I’ll lament the loss of the Paper Mario series as it once was.

As for a Thousand-Year Door HD remaster, great. Sure. It wouldn’t be the same as a new Paper Mario RPG, which is what I really want, but at least it would be something. And if it sold well, it just might convince Nintendo that there’s room for two Mario RPGs on the market after all.

Based on what we’ve seen so far of Paper Mario: Color Splash, what do you think about the game and the series’ future?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Color Splash and the Future of Paper Mario appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

The Saga Continues in The Witcher: Enhanced Edition

Last Sunday, I beat The Witcher. Then E3 started, and while there are still E3 topics we could discuss, it’s time to give The Witcher its due.

(Technically it’s The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director’s Cut, so the premium version of the original game.)

After completely missing my goal of catching up on the entire Witcher saga before The Witcher 3 came out (last May), I finally moved on from the books to the games.

Let’s talk about the gameplay quickly. I played on Easy because I wanted to worry about alchemy as little as possible, so I’m not the best judge of the game’s admittedly-unusual combat system. Instead of typical action RPG combat, you attack through timed clicks after selecting one of three styles: one for strong but slow attacks, one for fast but weaker attacks, and one for multiple enemies.

You’ll pick your style based on the type of enemy you face, as well as picking your steel sword for fighting humans or your silver sword for fighting monsters.

You can also cast magical signs, such as Aard (telekinetic blast) or Igni (fire). Then there’s alchemy, which lets you create potions, bombs, etc. using ingredients you collect from fallen enemies. Alchemy, as well as selecting traits from your talent tree when you level up, are two of the possible actions during meditation.

Overall, I found the basic gameplay fine, although the limited inventory drove me crazy.

The story picks up after the end of the saga told in the novels. Knowledge of the books isn’t critical, because Geralt has mysterious returned from the dead with amnesia. The amnesia isn’t a huge part of the story, but it does make it more accessible.

On the other hand, the game is filled with references to the books, which is awesome. Dandelion in particular is a goldmine for references, but there are plenty more.

Witcher-novel-referenceWitcher-referencing-an-old-friendWitcher-Ciri-referenceWitcher-Last-Wish-referenceWitcher-Fringilla-reference

I loved catching references to the novels. The game’s story was also enjoyable, with some interesting twists and turns (and a blatant reference to H.P. Lovecraft, which was fantastic).

It also had good characters. I expected to mainly enjoy seeing familiar characters return, but it also had its share of original characters I liked quite a bit. (Like Kalkstein. Any other Kalkstein fans? He was great.)

Like many other western RPGs, The Witcher lets you select dialogue options and make key choices throughout the game. Unlike a lot of them, it often resides in a morally gray area. Which is the right choice to make? There is no right or wrong answer, but you have to decide.

(And maybe you dislike both sides and want to stay the heck out of it. You can, to an extent, which I greatly appreciated… especially after my frustration with Dragon Age II.)

Other choices are smaller, like deciding who to help in a side quest.

There are side quests aplenty, both monster contracts obtained from notice boards (which are decent except that the contracts inexplicably take up inventory space and must be put into storage) and regular quests given by NPCs. NPCs follow their own schedules based on the day/night cycle, although you can advance to a particular time through meditation.

And there’s rarely a single main quest that advances the plot, but rather several story-relevant quests that eventually lead you to that point.

A lot of the story quests were really fun and the story’s pacing worked well, although Chapter 2 dragged on a bit and Chapter 5 felt too linear. Nevertheless, it all came together for an epic conclusion that leaves me excited to play the second game and see where the Witcher saga goes next.

In short, it’s a great RPG and I definitely recommend it… especially if you’ve read the Witcher books. What are your thoughts on The Witcher?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post The Saga Continues in The Witcher: Enhanced Edition appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

E3 2016 Part 6: Nintendo Treehouse & Miscellaneous Highlights

What is Nintendo doing? It’s hard to say. Nintendo Treehouse should show if their decision to skip an actual E3 show was good or bad.

We’ll also take a look at some exciting things shown elsewhere during E3.

Table of Contents

EA

Bethesda

Microsoft

PC Gaming

Ubisoft

Sony

Nintendo Treehouse

Nintendo Treehouse at E3 2016
Day One

As promised, Nintendo spent the first day focused on the new Legend of Zelda game. The day began with a new trailer, which also gave it the official title The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

It’s a beautiful trailer, but it left me just as uncertain about open world Zelda as I was before.

After that, they showed some new stuff from Pokémon Sun and Moon, including the new four-player Battle Royal battles. There’s also a neat new feature where the screen is shadowed as you approach a trainer who will challenge you. I like that.

Overall, the game looks good, and I think the 3D is handled better than in X and Y.

The rest of the day focused more on Zelda.

I’ll admit, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks pretty cool. I especially liked the shrines, which have puzzles and are dungeon-like even though the actual dungeons are different.

I will say this. Despite my concerns, the more I watched, the more Zelda-like it felt. I’m cautiously optimistic.

And that was the first day of Nintendo Treehouse at E3 2016.

Day Two

The second day began with a Pokémon GO Q&A. I’m not particularly interested in it, but the hint of a summer release should please fans. I didn’t watch everything Nintendo showed the second day, but here are the highlights.

They announced a new RPG called Ever Oasis, created by the man behind Mana series. It’s really cute and reminds me a bit of Fantasy Life in its presentation.

So far it doesn’t seem as story-driven as I like my RPGs to be, but I’ll keep it in mind for sure. They played it during the live stream, too.

I watched some footage from the new Mario Party, but I still prefer the old style. Then I watched a little Yo-Kai Watch 2, which looks great!

I’m getting it for sure.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions looks as fun as ever, and I’m happy with my decision to pre-order it.

Then… I braced myself. It was time for Paper Mario: Color Splash.

And as much as I hate to say it, Color Splash still looks like Sticker Star 2.0 to me.

My heart sank when I saw the same sort of level-select map Sticker Star used. Then they got into a battle. Combat looks very reminiscent of the sticker system, although maybe better. I couldn’t tell if the inventory was limited, and a non-limited inventory would be a definite improvement.

And at the end of the battle, they earned no experience. Just coins and paint (and cards, sometimes). Later they used a special card to defeat a puzzle boss, which brought back memories of needing the exact right item from a totally different level to defeat bosses in Sticker Star.

I want to be wrong. I wanted Color Splash to surprise me. But it still looks far too similar to Sticker Star for me to believe in it.

Other

Every year, there are some great games shown at E3 that aren’t included in the press conferences. For example, NieR: Automata, which looks absolutely fantastic!

I better hurry up and play the first one. They also showed some boss footage later in the week.

Yep, NieR: Automata looks absolutely awesome!

Meanwhile, the Final Fantasy XV situation has gotten even larger. They announced a side-scrolling brawler tie-in called A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV. Unfortunately, it seems as though it’s a pre-order bonus exclusive to Gamestop and EB Games Canada. (Really? It’s not included in the super-expensive Collector’s Edition?)

The second episode of Brotherhood (the FFXV anime) was also released.

They also announced Wait Mode, which lets you pause the game during combat to choose your moves at a slower pace. As a turn-based combat fan, it feels like an excellent compromise. Everything I heard about Final Fantasy XV during E3 has me excited. I’m fully on board with it now.

In other RPG news, Tales of Berseria got an awesome new trailer. It looks awesome. I really want to believe in Berseria, despite my disappointment with Tales of Zestiria.

Capcom shared gameplay from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice. I didn’t catch the whole live stream, but what I did see looked promising.

I also checked out some Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue off-screen footage, since the demo is playable at E3. It looks phenomenal, and I’m even more excited for 2.8 than I was before (if you can believe it).

Nomura answered many questions about about Kingdom Hearts 2.8, Kingdom Hearts 3, and the possibility of a sequel to The World Ends With You (YES!) in an interview.

And World of Final Fantasy continues to look so adorable and fun, I think I’m sold on it at last.

Well, that concludes another E3! What were your favorite moments and announcements this year? Which of these games do you like the most? And what do you think about Paper Mario: Color Splash?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post E3 2016 Part 6: Nintendo Treehouse & Miscellaneous Highlights appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

E3 2016 Part 5: Strong Showing from Sony

In past years, Sony’s E3 press conference has often been one of my favorites of the show. Let’s see if they can deliver again this year!

Table of Contents

EA

Bethesda

Microsoft

PC Gaming

Ubisoft

Sony

Nintendo Treehouse

Sony’s E3 2016 Press Conference

Sony’s press conference had an unusual opening. A extremely sinister man walked up the aisle (seriously, he was a cape away from looking like a video game villain) and began conducting an orchestra, which launched into equally sinister music complete with chanting.

This concert went on for a bit.

At last, they shifted to gameplay footage from a new God of War game. I’ve never played a God of War game, but it didn’t look like I expected. Still, it was interesting. Definitely a strong start for Sony’s show.

Next, they showed a zombie-ish game called Days Gone. It was one of the weakest announcements of the show for me, but they soon switched to The Last Guardian. The Last Guardian, which hung in Limbo for so long, is finally coming out on October 25. I still haven’t played Ico or Shadow of the Colossus, but I’ll be interested to see reviews of The Last Guardian.

The best thing about Sony’s press conference was that it was almost pure gameplay. Instead of filling up time with features, hardware, and nice words, the majority of the show focused on trailer after trailer. (And when people did walk on stage, epic music from the orchestra accompanied them.)

Horizon: Zero Dawn was a fan-favorite last year even if it didn’t catch me, and it was up next. Then, they showed a game I’m pretty interested in, Detroit: Become Human.

I was intrigued by it before, but the new trailer was really cool.

And then… they showed a horror game.

It was pretty creepy. It held my attention. I wanted to know what it was. Could it be Silent Hill? A scary new IP?

No. It was…

I couldn’t believe my eyes when that named appeared.

Resident Evil? Resident Evil that looks like horror again?! I want to believe.

There’s a PS4 demo available to PlayStation Plus users tonight, so we should hear more about the gameplay soon. It also will be compatible with PlayStation VR.

Some people are upset since it looks like it’s a first-person game, but I’m too excited over the possibility of survival horror Resident Evil 7!

Ahem. They talked more about PlayStation VR and compatible games, including a shooter called Farpoint, an X-Wing VR mission for Star Wars Battlefront, and a Batman VR game.

Final Fantasy XV joined the VR crowd, too, with the Final Fantasy XV VR Experience where you play as Prompto.

Seems kinda weird to me, but I’m still not convinced VR is the way of the future.

After all that excitement, they were due to show something I wouldn’t find as interesting… so it was time for an extended look at Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, as well as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.

And then… music started playing.

Familiar music.

Crash Bandicoot music.

So I freaked out. Again.

Now, the main announcement was that Crash Bandicoot is going to be in the new Skylanders game, Skylanders Imaginators, but that’s not all. Oh no, no, not at all.

The original Crash Bandicoot trilogy is being remastered for the PS4. The remastered Crash Bandicoot collection will be out in 2017.

Yeah! Crash is back! It’s not the same as a new game, but this is a definite step in the right direction.

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens took the stage next, but soon it was time for a legend to appear!

Epic music played as Hideo Kojima walked onto the stage, and he finally revealed the mysterious game he has in the works.

Wow. Death Stranding.

I’m not sure what it is. I’m not sure what I just watched. But I’m seriously intrigued. It definitely looks interesting, and I want to know more. I wanted to see more right then. I want to see more now!

Then they showed a Spiderman game for the PS4, and returned to Days Gone for some gameplay I didn’t care about. A final montage of PlayStation games closed the conference.

Well, that was exciting.

As far as I’m concerned, Sony has claimed the lead this E3. Unless Nintendo has something spectacular in store, Sony won for me. So much from this conference looked awesome, and I really appreciate the focus on trailers. Game after game after game.

(I wish they showed more Kingdom Hearts, but we can’t have everything.)

What did you think of Sony’s E3 2016 press conference?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post E3 2016 Part 5: Strong Showing from Sony appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

E3 2016 Part 4: Cool PC Games, and Ubisoft

PC Gaming has its own press conference again. Let’s take a look at it and Ubisoft’s together.

Table of Contents

EA

Bethesda

Microsoft

PC Gaming

Ubisoft

Sony

Nintendo Treehouse

PC Gaming E3 2016 Press Conference

Why does PC Gaming have its own show? I’m not sure. But I love PC games as much as the next person, so let’s take a look.

They started with Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III. I may not be an RTS fan, but at least it looked somewhat cool.

The next few games didn’t really interest me: a sim called Oxygen Not Included, a discussion of Ark: Survival Evolved, and a bizarre-looking game called Giant Cop. Then they showed Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord, which looked okay but isn’t really my thing.

Next, though, the creators of Lords of the Fallen showed their new game, The Surge.

It’s a sci-fi Dark Souls-inspired game, and that sounds interesting to me.

Back to stuff that doesn’t really interest me: a shooter called LawBreakers, a lot of technical talk about AMD, and Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope.

Vampyr, on the other hand, has definite potential.

After my vampire-fueled excitement, it moved on to Killing Floor 2 content and more VR, but then they showed Obsidian’s upcoming RPG Tyranny. Its premise is that the bad guys have won, which could be interesting.

Then it was horror time!

The idea behind Observer is that it’s a cyberpunk universe where the police can hack into people’s mind and use their fears against them. They showed both a teaser trailer and some gameplay.

I’ve got my eye on it. It seems like it has the potential to be pretty creepy.

After that, we had another string of games I’m not interested in, starting with an RTS called Dropzone and new Arma 3 content. They showed a puzzle game called Turing Test that could be interesting, but looked kind of dull from its trailer, and a survival game called Overland.

After that came a space MMO called Dual Universe, a closer look at Halo Wars 2, and a new World War II shooter called Day of Infamy.

They then switched to fantasy, with Mirage: Arcane Warfare. It doesn’t really interest me, but the next magic-themed game did. Mages of Mystralia lets you make your own magic spells, and it looks really cute.

The PC Gaming show closed with a look at a new mode for Warframe, Warframe Lunaro. I have no interest in Warframe, though, so let’s stop here and move on to the next conference of the day.

Table of Contents

EA

Bethesda

Microsoft

PC Gaming

Ubisoft

Sony

Nintendo Treehouse

Ubisoft’s E3 2016 Press Conference

I’m not even going to comment on the way Ubisoft opened its show.

It tied into Just Dance 2017, which I have no interest in. The next game, which the host assured us blew our minds last year, is one I didn’t remember, Ghost Recon: Wildlands. You can imagine how much interest I have in it.

Similarly, I’ve got no interest in South Park: The Fractured but Whole, which was the next focus.

After that, they spoke more about The Division’s upcoming content.

Virtual reality was next, with Eagle Flight VR. I’m really not sold on VR, but I’ll admit this looked cool. Still, my excitement for the Star Trek game they showed next dropped off when I realized it was also VR, Star Trek: Bridge Crew.

(I’m mainly an Original Series fan anyway.)

The next trailer was pretty cool, and it turned out to be For Honor.

I honestly thought this was a multiplayer-only title, but apparently it has a campaign, too. Will I get it? Probably not, but it was one of the more interesting parts of the conference.

Then it moved onto Grow Up. It’s the sequel to Grow Home (which I didn’t know was out), and it looks cute. How can you not love a cute little robot?

The next guy was given an epic introduction while most of the audience looked on in confusion, and all of this was about a crossover between Trials and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, called Trials of the Blood Dragon. It looked pretty crazy, and it’s already out now.

Assassin’s Creed then took over the focus. In particular, the Assassin’s Creed movie, which hopes to escape the curse of video game movies. Who knows, maybe it will.

Then the screen went crazy, in a bizarre intro for Watch Dogs 2. Watch Dogs never interested me, and Watch Dogs 2 has done nothing to change my interest.

After a look at Watch Dogs 2, they moved to a new IP. There haven’t been a lot of those so far this E3, so I was interested. Unfortunately, Steep is an open world action sports game, so it’s definitely not one for me.

And that was the end of Ubisoft’s show. Ah well. I’m not an Ubisoft fan, so my lack of interest isn’t surprising.

Thoughts on the PC Gaming show and Ubisoft’s E3 2016 press conference? Let me know in the comments!

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post E3 2016 Part 4: Cool PC Games, and Ubisoft appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

E3 2016 Part 3: Hit or Miss for Microsoft?

Microsoft’s press conference was third this year. In the past, I’ve found their showings to be decent. I went into this one hoping more than anything for a solid look at Scalebound!

Table of Contents

EA

Bethesda

Microsoft

PC Gaming

Ubisoft

Sony

Nintendo Treehouse

Microsoft’s E3 2016 Press Conference

Microsoft’s show began with a look at the new, slim Xbox One model, called the Xbox One S. It’s smaller, improved, and only costs $299, which makes it a tempting possibility if I get an Xbox One.

On the other hand, the majority of games shown at the press conference are for both the Xbox One and Windows 10, part of the new Xbox Play Anywhere feature. The basic idea is that when you buy a game, you’ll have access to it from both your Xbox One and Windows 10. Cross-play is also supported.

The first game shown was Gears of War 4. I’ve never played the Gears of War games, but it looks interesting enough.

A Gears character, General RAAM, is also joining the lineup of Killer Instinct. After a little Killer Instinct footage, they moved on to Forza Horizon 3, to which I devoted as much attention as I do to any racing game: not much.

But do you remember ReCore? It looked pretty cool last E3, and it still does now.

It’s due out September 13, so it isn’t that far away. And speaking of September releases, next on the stage was Square Enix with new Final Fantasy XV footage.

I’m excited for Final Fantasy XV. I really am. But the new gameplay footage was… not the greatest. It was a boss battle against Titan. They probably should have picked something else to show.

Since it’s not a normal battle, it came across as boring and a little disorienting. The player seemed to be struggling, too. All in all, not a great showing for Final Fantasy XV, although it’s probably the presentation more than the gameplay itself.

Next up, a new expansion for The Division, followed by gameplay footage from Battlefield 1. Then they shifted gears to talk about Xbox Live’s upcoming new features, as well as updates to Minecraft.

The Minecraft section included a gameplay video that also had its share of cringe-worthy moments, but maybe it’s because I’m not a Minecraft fan.

After announcing customizable controllers, it was time for the creepy portion of the show! First, a trailer for Inside that showed next to nothing, and then (after a montage of indie games) a delightfully disturbing trailer for We Happy Few.

So, so creepy.

This was the high point of the show, because what name appeared next on the screen? CD Projekt RED! And what were they announcing?

Gwent!

Okay, so Gwent as a standalone game was pretty much leaked already, but it was still cool to see the announcement.

I haven’t played Gwent yet, but I just finished The Witcher (yes, the first one) yesterday. Expect my review after all our E3 excitement. Anyway, you can sign up for the Gwent beta here.

Next up was Tekken 7, then Dead Rising 4, and then the game I was really waiting for, Scalebound!

Oh, Scalebound…

I love PlatinumGames. I want to love Scalebound. And the gameplay they showed looked pretty cool.

The protagonist, though…

I still don’t like him. He’s not endearing the way Bayonetta is.

Every time Scalebound is shown, I just want to like the main character.

Well, Rare took the stage next to show gameplay from their pirate MMO, Sea of Thieves. The gameplay looks interesting, although the people playing it made me cringe so much, I wondered if it was a parody of gamers.

But hey, it made me smile.

I have no interest in State of Decay, but then they showed Halo Wars 2. RTS games and I don’t get along, but I always like seeing some Halo.

And then Microsoft concluded its shown by revealing Project Scorpio, the next Xbox One console. It’s supposed to be much more powerful, and it seems to occupy the middle ground between being an upgrade and a new console. Exciting, but… won’t it make players reluctant to get one of the current models?

Microsoft’s show was really hit or miss for me. There were some great moments coupled with some bad moments and a lot of things that were mixed (like the Final Fantasy XV demo). But at least we can play Gwent!

What did you think of Microsoft’s E3 2016 press conference?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post E3 2016 Part 3: Hit or Miss for Microsoft? appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

E3 2016 Part 2: Bethesda’s Surprises

I’m not a huge Bethesda fan, but last year’s E3 show has some great moments, like the Dishonored 2 reveal. Let’s see what they have in store for us at E3 2016…

Table of Contents

EA

Bethesda

Microsoft

PC Gaming

Ubisoft

Sony

Nintendo Treehouse

Bethesda’s E3 2016 Press Conference

Bethesda’s press conference didn’t begin quite when it was scheduled. Instead, it began about 17 minutes later. After that late start, however, it kicked off with Quake Champions.

I’m not a Quake fan, but I know it’s a huge announcement.

Then, after recapping their releases from the past year, they discussed Elder Scrolls Legends, the upcoming card strategy game set in the Elder Scrolls universe. After that, they moved on to upcoming Fallout 4 DLC and updates to the mobile game Fallout Shelter.

Plus, Skyrim is being remastered.

After the Skyrim announcement, a new game was shown… and this one looks pretty interesting.

Horror? Experiments? Psychology? Aliens?

I like it!

Apparently Prey is a reboot of the 2006 game Prey. I never played it (or knew what it was), but this is one I definitely want to keep my eye on.

For me, that was the high point of conference. From there it was Doom DLC and Snapmap updates, along with a free demo available for the next week, new additions to The Elder Scrolls Online, virtual reality, and a large focus on Dishonored 2.

Dishonored 2 still looks really cool to me, and I might play the first one before this one comes out in November. November 11, to be precise. Preorders of the Collector’s Edition include a free copy of the first game’s Definitive Edition.

And that was that.

I enjoyed it more than EA’s trailer, but it still didn’t thrill me. Tomorrow, though, we have even more press conferences to look forward to!

What was your favorite part of Bethesda’s E3 2016 press conference?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post E3 2016 Part 2: Bethesda’s Surprises appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.