Video Games...Discuss Them

[megladon8]

So is "Bloodborne" a Souls game?

There's a lot of Souls imagery in the trailer.

[number8]

I saw a tweet yesterday that said "Dead Island 2 trailer was great! I can't wait to play a game that is nothing like it." Heh.

[Irish]

So, just to catch up, after 6 months, the XBone is still not worth buying?

[megladon8]

So, just to catch up, after 6 months, the XBone is still not worth buying?

IMO it's more worth buying than the PS4, which is still just a pretty paperweight.

I am really hoping that the game announcements on the PS4 for later this year/early next pan out to be great games, because I am finding the PS4 to have been an enormous waste of money right now.

[Irish]

IMO it's more worth buying than the PS4, which is still just a pretty paperweight.

I am really hoping that the game announcements on the PS4 for later this year/early next pan out to be great games, because I am finding the PS4 to have been an enormous waste of money right now.

Whoa, really? I've only done cursory research but it seems a lot of folks think Playstation Plus and the upcoming PS Now and Playstation TV are much better than anything Microsoft offers.

Loved everything about the original Xbox. Skipped the 360 because reports of the RROD put me off. I was all in to buy the next gen until MSFT's shitty E3 announcement last year. Price drop has me reconsidering.

I'd rather stick with the iPad and the occasional OSX game/ dual boot into Windows/Steam than buy Sony, but admittedly their value proposition looks pretty damned good.

[Morris Schæffer]

That new Zelda game looks amazing. It begs the question though. Why can't i have a new metroid prime with those visuals? The answer is ugly and vile. nintendo are sadists, wishing to inflict colossal pain upon their fans all around the globe. Valve and gabe newell are born of the same cloth. They know what we want, are capable of getting of their asses and doing something about it, but choose to dabble in trivialities and infantile tosh we've seen numerous times before. Still, that zelda footage redeemed their shit somewhat.

[Gittes]

I get the sense that not a lot of Nintendo fans visit this forum, but I think they easily had the best presentation (technically, their E3 coverage isn't over, and Miyamoto is still set to reveal some titles). While they didn't have an on-stage presentation, that's negligible, as their Digital Event was framed as an E3 showing, and their products are on the show floor. Unlike Sony or Microsoft, Nintendo demonstrated a sense of humour about itself, incorporating a lot more personality and pizzazz into a very well paced presentation. The other conferences seem kind of plodding and bland by comparison. I also appreciated the way they came across as a company that understands its fan base: hence, we received some self deprecation, as well as a few playful references to the most insistently requested games. They also really embraced the eccentric appropriation of Reggie and Iwata's images, which has been a staple of message board discussions for years.

Most importantly, the games on display were varied and stellar (in this regard, I think Nintendo focused on titles that either exceeded or matched the highlights of Sony and Microsoft's respective conferences: Sunset Overdrive, Inside, Abzu, No Man's Sky, Uncharted 4). Splatoon, for example, is a welcome and original surprise. The visuals are nice, but the real selling point seems to be the distinction of the gameplay, and the dynamism and tactical strategies that it enables.






Yoshi's Woolly World looks remarkable, as well. The yarn aesthetic is lovely, and it's obviously one of the game's salient attractions. The co-op experience looks like it will be so much fun:



The best part, of course, was the Zelda reveal (Nintendo hasn't uploaded the trailer yet), which was as wonderful and exciting as I hoped it would be:

To those of you who have already watched the trailer, other images are below. The art style is marvelous:

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Show Spoiler

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[bac0n]

Wow, Batman Arkham Knight is looking so amazing, but I'm wondering if we're gonna get a Fallout 4 announcement.

[Dukefrukem]

I saw a tweet yesterday that said "Dead Island 2 trailer was great! I can't wait to play a game that is nothing like it." Heh.

Sad but true. I will give them credit, Riptide is LIGHTYEARS more polished than the first game. But god damn, the first game is so horrible. Here are a fraction of my encounters.

[Dukefrukem]

[EyesWideOpen]

IMO it's more worth buying than the PS4, which is still just a pretty paperweight.

I am really hoping that the game announcements on the PS4 for later this year/early next pan out to be great games, because I am finding the PS4 to have been an enormous waste of money right now.

We must have different PS4 's because I've played tons of awesome stuff on it.

[Dukefrukem]

I get the sense that not a lot of Nintendo fans visit this forum, but I think they easily had the best presentation

EWO is a big Nintendo guy but I don't even consider them competing at this point. Their market is totally different than what Sony and Microsoft are doing. It's not a true next gen system it just so happens to exist in a market with other systems. None of their games appeal to me anymore. I'd rather a top down Zelda game than anything they put out since A Link to the Past. I never played Wind Walker but I didn't care for that kind of game.

[bac0n]

I would like the echo the sentiments of a lot of other people here, and say thanks, Duke. Your E3 posts are awesome, and have saved a lotta lazy schlubs like me a lot of time and clicks.

[Irish]

Likewise. Duke's E3 posts were excellent & saved me an enormous amount of time. Plus, better content than a lot of "pro" outlets.

[number8]

Sony enters the streaming device market.

Geez.

[Gittes]

EWO is a big Nintendo guy but I don't even consider them competing at this point. Their market is totally different than what Sony and Microsoft are doing. It's not a true next gen system it just so happens to exist in a market with other systems. None of their games appeal to me anymore. I'd rather a top down Zelda game than anything they put out since A Link to the Past. I never played Wind Walker but I didn't care for that kind of game.

I think it's kind of weird to dismiss Nintendo based on hardware gradations, especially given how robust and impressive their offerings are. With each passing generation, they continue to release titles that can easily be slotted into the pantheon of great games. It's peculiar that Nintendo's contested "next gen" status is even used as some kind of slight, despite the distinct visual splendour, charm, and depth that is typical of their output. The "next gen" appellation isn't an imprimatur. I know that Nintendo is occasionally stigmatized as a purveyor of infantile, derivative iterations, but these arguments seem to be based on cosmetic details, cursory judgments, or uncritical brand loyalty. Such criticisms obscure the artistry of Nintendo's titles, the consistency and inimitable qualities of their IPs, as well as their penchant for innovation.

Anyway, this isn't a novel argument, and you're obviously not the only one who no longer finds Nintendo's games appealing. By the way, they released a top-down Zelda title (a sequel to A Link to the Past, actually) last year.

Also, my apologies if my enthusiasm is beginning to resemble the hawking of a Nintendo shill.

[number8]

lol the PSTV only outputs 720p video and stereo audio. How is that acceptable to compete?

[Dukefrukem]

You guys are too nice. All I did was just copy/paste the URLs of the youtube vids.

E3 is one of my favorite days of the year though. <3

[Dukefrukem]

I think it's kind of weird to dismiss Nintendo based on hardware gradations, especially given how robust and impressive their offerings are. With each passing generation, they continue to release titles that can easily be slotted into the pantheon of great games. It's peculiar that Nintendo's contested "next gen" status is even used as some kind of slight, despite the distinct visual splendour, charm, and depth that is typical of their output. The "next gen" appellation isn't an imprimatur. I know that Nintendo is occasionally stigmatized as a purveyor of infantile, derivative iterations, but these arguments seem to be based on cosmetic details, cursory judgments, or uncritical brand loyalty. Such criticisms obscure the artistry of Nintendo's titles, the consistency and inimitable qualities of their IPs, as well as their penchant for innovation.

Anyway, this isn't a novel argument, and you're obviously not the only one who no longer finds Nintendo's games appealing. By the way, they released a top-down Zelda title (a sequel to A Link to the Past, actually) last year.

Also, my apologies if my enthusiasm is beginning to resemble the hawking of a Nintendo shill.

Well I dismiss them because I hated the Wii and it's successor. I hate the PS Eye/Move. I hate Kinect. It's not in my area of interest. So I don't pay attention to them at all. The system isn't even capable of even running a fraction of the multiform titles the others get and their games are severely lacking in quality. this is coming from someone who owned the NES, SNES, and Gamecube. (skipped the N64 but I won multiple Bond tournaments)

Your Nintendo enthusiasm is warranted here. Please do not apologize.

[Dukefrukem]

Man, this went to being my most anticipated to a questionable purchase. I can't get a feeling for this game. It's all over the place.

[amberlita]

Aaaaaaah fuck yes the Batmobile! ritch:


The Scarecrow scenes in Batman: AA scared the shit out of me. Can't wait for the nightmare missions.

[Gittes]

Well I dismiss them because I hated the Wii and it's successor. I hate the PS Eye/Move. I hate Kinect.

It seems like technology such as the PS Eye/Move, Kinect, and Nintendo's motion controllers aren't integral to most of the essential, compelling experiences offered by any of the three consoles. The exceptions are Wii Sports, Skyward Sword, and Nintendo Land, but it doesn't seem like many other noteworthy titles adopted motion controls quite as effectively as those three titles. I do understand the frustration inspired by, say, Microsoft forcing users to pay for the Kinect peripheral alongside the Xbox One (they redressed this, though).

Still, I don't think such technology is hindering the arrival of great games, nor our experience of said games. It hasn't been utilized extensively enough to qualify as a true problem. Skyward Sword was the only Wii game I played that embraced motion controls in an especially memorable way, and this actually yielded great results (i.e., the boss battles were really compelling). In other cases, such as Mario Galaxy and Donkey Kong Country Returns, motion controls are implemented in a much more understated fashion, and this doesn't really impact the quality of the games. For better or worse, history is repeating itself, as I can't think of a Wii U game that significantly utilizes the Gamepad, and a lot of fans prefer the Wii U Pro Controller.

At any rate, I think even suggesting that Nintendo's games "are severely lacking in quality" is preposterous and demonstrably false. Having said that, I do understand that their games simply aren't your style.

Man, this went to being my most anticipated to a questionable purchase. I can't get a feeling for this game. It's all over the place.

Yeah, as a fan of the Resident Evil remake, I was really looking forward to this, but it seems to be eliciting some disappointment from those who have tried it.

[megladon8]

So it looks like "Bloodborne" is indeed the spiritual successor to "Demon's Souls".

Now there are guns, and it's in a Gothic city populated by vampires and werewolves.

Count me in!

[Spun Lepton]

That new Evil Within trailer ruined my anticipation, too.

[megladon8]

Can I ask what it is that is making people so worried about "The Evil Within"?

I thought that looked really neat