On Hiatus

Hey all,

I'm going to take a break from the blog for a while. Or at least slow down. I'm running out of things to write, and the number of viewers seems to have drastically decreased as of late. I also have some other projects to consider. Basically, I'll post when I feel like it. Deal with it.

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

Quote of the Week 16

"You are bad guy, but this does not mean you are bad guy." ~ Zangief, Wreck-it Ralph trailer

("Zombie! Bad guy!")

E3 2012, Day 4

Hey all,

The biggest gaming event of the year is coming to a close. I haven't found a lot more to talk about since last night though.

I saw some of Nintendo's 3DS show last night, and all I can say is more disappointment. They simply showed a bunch of games that they had already announced. There wasn't much new to get excited about. The games that I can recall people being really excited about were Castlevania, Paper Mario, and the new suite of Pokemon games. I found out that I switched off their webcast too soon though as Mr. Fils-Aime let slip that the new Fire Emblem will be coming across the Pacific. I guess Reggie isn't so mighty without a sword after all. Nintendo needs to sharpen their blades and come up with some surprises like they did last year.

A lot of gamers are excited about The Last of Us and the new Tomb Raider, but I have neglected those titles until this point. But who seriously wants to hear me go on about the revival of an aged series and a cinematic story set in the Rust Belt? In all seriousness they look like good games. Lara Croft definitely looks a lot more badass now. I guess it's hard to look tough when you're made up of blocky polygons. Joking aside there are no plans to bring Tomb Raider to the Wii U which sounds like they have netted another loss. The Last of Us on the other hand is a PS3 exclusive as far as I know. It looks like a survival shooter without the zombies.

Mobile games will certainly be big in the future, but I haven't been paying a lot of attention to that either. I did hear they are doing another Infinity Blade. I haven't played either of the first two, but I know I should. An iPad purchase should fix that problem. Square Enix has plans for a title has that some of the experts intrigued as well.

Have I missed anything? Let me know!

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

E3 2012, Day 3

Hey all,

I wanted to continue talking about my thoughts on E3 today. There's only so much you can talk about in a couple posts after all.

Who "won" E3?
If I have to choose someone from the big 3, then I'd have to pick Sony. They're spreading their lineup out in many different ways and showing some impressive exclusives. They don't have Halo 4 (the most talked about game from E3 according to G4 and Twitter), but their games did catch my eye. Can I say Ubisoft won? They were at each of the Big 3's press conferences as well as their own. I'm honestly surprised they didn't make an appearance during EA's show. Assassin's Creed III couldn't be talked about enough. They showcased some good games for both the core and casual crowds. In an E3 in which some people could say "The games won E3", why not choose a company that solely develops games?

Who "lost" E3?
Nintendo. I was planning to buy a Wii U before I saw their offerings. I'm not sure I understand their angle. Nintendoland, New Super Mario Bros U, and Wii Fit U were the only first party games shown other than Pikmin 3, which was the only game that wasn't in favor of the casual crowd. Their third party lineup was a desperate attempt to appease the hardcore crowd, but it was full of games that have already existed on other platforms for months. No one will buy a Wii U for Mass Effect 3 or Batman Arkham City when they can get it right now on a 360 or PS3. Their release games seem weak, and one must question if they learned anything from the 3DS launch. I feel like I'm making a lot of judgments here though, so I don't think I can officially say they bombed at E3 until I see their 3DS webcast tonight.

What I know now that I didn't know yesterday.
SmartGlass is an app, and it's planned for Windows 8, iOS, and Android. I wish I had caught that sooner. I feel like I can get excited about this technology now that I know I don't have to buy another device. I plan on getting this for my Android and iPad once it's released.

What games piqued my interest.
I heard about Star Wars 1313 at work, and I got a link to the trailer. I have to say that it looks very impressive. At first I thought it was all a cutscene. I didn't notice the game was being played until after a few minutes. I don't know whether or not to say that it looks more realistic than Beyond. Graphics aren't everything though; I want to hear more about gameplay. I also want to know more about Elder Scrolls Online. Apparently this game has been in development for five years and will feature open dungeons instead of the more modern instances a la WoW and SWTOR. The graphics and gameplay could possibly be very dated by the time this game comes out, but there aren't a lot of details yet. By the way, someone please tell me more about South Park: The Stick of Truth!

I know I will have something more to say tomorrow. I still haven't talked about a lot of games, and E3 isn't over just yet.

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage

E3 2012, Day 2

Hey all,

More E3 madness has ensued following Microsoft, EA, and Ubisoft's announcements yesterday. I am certainly more impressed with the more recent showings.

Since I posted before their presentation yesterday, I think talking about Sony's upcoming plans would be a good start. I tend to be pretty critical of them and their actions, particularly of late with their weak Vita launch and their PSN debacle. The Vita still seems very weak to me aside from the addition of the PS1 classics. Everything else: Wow! Where do I begin?

There's a lot of games to get excited about. God of War Ascension, Beyond, and definitely Playstation All Star Battle Royale topped my list. There's also Assassin's Creed III, but that's old news already, isn't it? Their two innovations are what really impressed me though. First of all is PlayStation Mobile. Microsoft is working with their Windows phone, but Sony introduced a platform that sounds like it will run on Apple and Google phones and tablets. There's been a lot of talk about the battle between handheld consoles and mobile platforms, and PlayStation Mobile sounds like the first step away from the former. The other big thing that caught my eye was the Wonderbook. It sounds very innovative: There are hardcore games, casual games, dancing games, rhythm games, exercise games, and so many other offspring of video games and genres. But this is the first time someone has done a book game. They should capture quite an audience with Book of Spells too, seeing as they are working with Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling.

Nintendo, on the other hand, was a little less impressive. A lot less impressive. You would figure they would want to flaunt their shiny new system, which is getting a lot of criticism now for its lack of power. The show starts off on a good note with Pikmin 3, New Super Mario Bros. U, and promises of expanding entertainment like Hulu Plus and Youtube. Then it all went downhill: The rest of the lineup includes a lot of casual games and "new" versions of non-exclusive third party games that were released on the other systems months ago. And Assassin's Creed III. It's hard to tell what exactly Nintendo wants to do not only because of this mix but also because they're still staying mum on a lot of important details. They are getting a lot of criticism from gamers for their pro controller and its similarity to the Xbox 360 controller. That's the reason I put the three controllers side-by-side at the top of the page. See them all and judge for yourself (note that now only one does not have joystick buttons.)

On a second look at Microsoft's offerings, I noticed they did have more than just shooters. I'm still fairly unimpressed though. They tried to be flashy and wow everyone with all the star power they had on stage, but I wasn't buying it. It seems like their focus is more on making an entertainment hub than a game system. Nintendo only has their toe in the water, and Sony is barely getting their start in that sense. The Xbox will have a ton of TV content, mixed with Kinect and the new SmartGlass, it will be a fantastic combination.

There's still more to consider going into tomorrow. E3 just started after all.

Later,
ArgentStew, the Gaming Sage